The List of Suspicious Things

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Set in Yorskhire during the late 70s/early 80s 12 year old Miv isn’t having an easy time. Not only is the Yorkshire Ripper on the loose but closer to home her mum is suffering from depression and is absent from her life & her dad is thinking of moving them away. To distract from her troubles and to feel useful and grown up, Miv and her friend Sharon embark on a quest to catch the Ripper and start to investigate people in the local community. I grew up in a small town and there were so many of the ‘personalities’ I could identify with. Miv really stands out and is a character that will stay with me. Jennie perfectly captures the uncertainty and awkwardness of adolescence when you start to discover that adults are less than perfect and begin to understand a bit more about the world while still trying to figure out who you are and how to be. A heartwarming tale about the power of human connection, written with empathy, warmth and care. To read it is to feel that little bit better about life' ELIZABETH DAY Well, I’m still not sure I really believe this is happening here and now. It’s always been an aspiration and so I sometimes have to pinch myself. Am I just playing at it? It’s been a complete transformation for me and sometimes I think there’s a kind of nervous, giggly girl who is trying to reconcile this leap into the complete unknown at the age of 51.

The List of Suspicious Things is a tender and moving coming of age story about family, friendship and community. Sometimes the strongest connections are found in the most unlikely of places. It gave me the courage to follow my true North. And it’s not just for artists or writers. When we get to a certain age or stage in life, it can feel as though our path is set. This can be a real impediment to doing/being somebody different. Humans are elastic so whatever age/stage you have the capacity to be something completely different. Never write off the ability to follow your dreams. Think about film and television too – it’s all writing – and who wouldn’t want to read Succession in book form (for example). My current WIP has a Happy Valley vibe to it, and I’m very happy with that. I have no deadlines or commitments to produce anything and yet I still show up for work every single day. Strictly speaking, I don’t get paid because that comes when I get my book deal. But I show up to do my work as a writer. I make lots of decisions in terms of what I need to do. That might be writing, but more often it’s learning. Podcasts, films, reading. And even dog -walking. It’s during these outdoor spells that everything percolates, and I have my ideas and inspiration.Many of our students find their writing community on our courses – are you still in touch with any of your course mates? The List of Suspicious Things follows 12-year-old Miv as she navigates a 1970s Yorkshire plagued by the Yorkshire Ripper.

Gosh this is a fantastic coming of age story, and a debut novel to boot (hard to believe). Having grown up in Yorkshire I recognise and felt connected to many of the characters, this may be a small community but there is much going on and plenty of women who can’t wait to spread the gossip, but they make for amusing characters (mostly!) I also remember the level of fear that the murders generated and the impact it had on local communities. Peter Sutcliffe (The Yorkshire Ripper) didn’t just rob women of their lives, he also robbed thousands of women of their right to feel safe going about their daily lives in the 1970’s. Writing can be arduous and terrifyingly lonely, however as we have written our novels, and both found agents during the pandemic with the support and friendship of each other. Here’s what we learned from our experiences that we thought might be helpful to others yearning for their own writing community; 1. Deadlines are your friends You’re now hugely successful and I learned a lot from that. I remember our conversation about the importance of holding your nerve and I use this mantra even now. ‘Hold your nerve’, or ‘show up’ are probably my favourite mantras in life.I really get the negativity around providing comp titles. Who wants to reduce their work to being just like someone else’s? Isn’t the whole point to be original? Well, yes, but remember that there is nothing new under the sun and providing a comp title doesn’t mean that you are saying ‘this book is exactly like my book.’ I can already hear someone saying ‘but I’ve heard the rules are that it has to be published within five years’ which leads us nicely onto: Peter Sutcliffe’s presence dominated Jennie’s early life, but it was only upon his arrest that she realised how closely their lives had touched. Her mechanic father worked with Sutcliffe, frequently servicing the lorries he drove. Godfrey was born and raised in Yorkshire and the novel was partly inspired by her father having worked alongside Peter Sutcliffe, the man eventually convicted as the Yorkshire Ripper. Butterfield said: “I don’t buy many books anymore, I’m not really supposed to, but I only do it when I fall in love with something extraordinary and there are actually novelists here who I’ve naughtily bought. And The List of Suspicious Things is exactly that, an extraordinary novel.

I believe our failures are signposts pointing us towards what will be better or what can be more rewarding. Writing the book was a homecoming and it’s fantastic to be showcasing my home area and people,” Jennie said. Meanwhile Jennie, who lives in Somerset, will continue studying for her PhD at the University of Bristol. Smart and funny and devastating, We All Want Impossible Things has huge Sorrow and Bliss vibes and I didn't want it to end. LAURA PEARSON

It was on the first course that I put a post on the forum asking for a trusted reader. It was the best thing I could have done. It was through this post that I met Jennie. Jennie is now finishing the final edit of the novel. Hutchinson Heinemann (an arm of Penguin) plans to publish it in 2024, before translations into German, Spanish and other langauges. The hunt for the evil Yorkshire Ripper inevitably means there are some dark themes and the storyline also includes racism, bullying and some domestic violence too. It captures West Yorkshire to perfection especially in the context of the late 70’s and early ‘80’s with its derelict satanic mills of Blake’s poem, with its ghosts of the past, the attitudes and gossip of a small town with firmly entrenched views. You definitely feel the tension and fear of the hunt for Peter Sutcliffe, I was in Yorkshire at the time though not the West, but we all felt the fear. Yet, despite all the obvious darkness, there’s Miv, wonderful Miv. You watch her grow up and you just know she’s going to be a fine young woman and one you’d most certainly want to know. Hutchinson Heinemann has signed Jennie Godfrey’s “funny, clever and emotional coming-of-age story” The List of Suspicious Things in an overnight pre-empt.

Rejection is hard-wired into the writing experience, but having someone to share it with made it sting less. When I got my agent (Nelle Andrew at RML) she was the first person I told, and when she got hers, I cried. But their search for the truth reveals more secrets in their neighbourhood, within their families - and between each other - than they ever thought possible. Also, I will be forever grateful for Elizabeth Day’s work on failing. Her book, ‘How To Fail’ has been my constant companion in this and is a great inspiration. Jennie said: “I remember my dad staring open mouthed at the television and saying ‘but I know him, I know him’.” For the last two days I have done nothing but read this book or think longingly about when I can return to reading this book. It's sad, and confronting, and comforting, and life-affirming all at the same time. Congrats, Catherine Newman, on an astonishing debut. KATIE BISHOP, author of THE GIRLS OF SUMMERFull of humour, warmth and eye-popping honesty ... a beautiful, candid and uplifting testament to female friendship that will make you laugh and cry WOMAN & HOME