Jules Grant Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Jules Grant is a British author from Manchester best known for writing one of 2017’s top thriller novels. Grant has a Masters in Creative Writing that she attained from Birbeck College, University of London, though she has practiced as a barrister for over two decades before she became a professional author. Her debut novel that made her career was titles “We Go Around In The Night and Are Consumed by Fire”, that was first published in 2017. The novel is a narrative of a group of Manchester lesbian gangsters who compose street poetry and will not hesitate to exact revenge on anyone that crosses their path. Since the publication of the novel, it has received critical acclaim and made the long lists and shortlists for several awards. Long listed for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger award, the novel has been described as an invigorating depiction of women in crime fiction. Given that the novel explores LGBT issues, it also made the shortlist for the Polari First Book Prize for nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.

Jules Grant first got interested in a professional writing career when she attended Carol Harrison’s Adult Education Screenwriting course that was being hosted by Hove Community College. The course completely changed her life since like many other writers she had written on and off without taking it seriously, until then. While it was only an eight-week course, it showed her that she could massively improve o her writing, and gave her the confidence to pursue a career in writing. She would soon sign up for a part-time Masters course at Birbeck, where she got the baptism by fire with a lot of reading, writing, and debating on a weekly basis. Punishing as it was, she never thought of quitting, and published several short stories while at Birbeck. She would get more motivation from her colleagues from Hove Community college and the New Writing South group of which she had become a member. Not long afterwards, she attended The Creative Writing Program in Brighton that had an Advanced Creative Writing Course for students with an MA. After she presented one of her unfinished chapter drafts the instructor encouraged her to submit it to a literary agent, and she did.

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Grant’s path to publication was very smooth. After her tutor recommended she submit her work to a publisher, she attended a Publishing Industry Day organized by NWS. The NWS had the Brighton publishers Myriad Editors among other literary agents providing short individual sessions. They were also offering personal advice and listening to pitches from writers interested in publishing. She booked two appointments with the Managing Director of Myriad, Candida Lacey, and the agents of Conville & Walsh. While initially nervous of attending any of the sessions, she psyched herself up and told herself she had nothing to lose anyway. She would tell herself that if she did not take the step she would never take it again. Printing her synopsis and the first three chapters, she gathered her wits and attended the meeting.

Her first appointment was with Myriad and all that she remembers is that Candida, who was the managing director was so nice to her, and even more generous in listening to her pitches and ideas for the book. Nonetheless, she had all the nerves to be expected of a new writer facing a major publisher for the first time, and it showed. She vaguely remembers uncontrolled burbling, stopping to apologize followed by more burbles and wishing the floor would crack open and swallow her whole. At the end, the publisher took her synopsis and chapters and promised to read them and get back to her. As a barrister and advocate by trade, making presentations comes naturally to her, and she had done it for twenty years. But in that fifteen short minutes pitching her novel she went to pieces as she wanted it so bad. Against all odds, she had been thrown a curveball, and she had succeeded. Myriad offered her a contract to publish her debut novel “We Go Around”. Barely a week later, Conville & Walsh had Alexander Cochran call her with an offer for representation. She has been lucky to have the support of Victoria Blunden, Myriad’s Senior Fiction Editor, and the encouragement and support of Alexander and Candida. These have patiently worked with her through the copy editing, editing, and rewriting process and been patient enough to ensure that her debut novel is the best it could be.

“We Go Around In The Night And Are Consumed By Fire” is a spectacular literary first by Jules Grant. Taking the perspectives of Donna the lesbian gangster alongside Aurora her streetwise god daughter, it is an exceptional look at the gun and gang culture in the criminal underworld of modern Manchester. An unputdownable revenge thriller that comes with an unforgettable love story to melt the heart of any crime fiction thriller fan. Carla and Donna have been the best of friends whose friendship stretches back to their childhood, when they stumbled upon each other while in foster care. The two women are in charge of the Bronte Close Gang, an all-female gang finding its foothold and creating an empire in the male dominated criminal underworld of Manchester. However, they stay as far away from the hotheaded nature of their male counterparts. They will never be found engaging in violent turf wars, they work as cleaners to wash their illegal monies, sell drugs in club toilets, and party on Canal Street. But when a local gangster guns down Carla for seducing his wife, Donna has to take up the slack and keep Aurora her ten-year-old from falling into the hands so the social welfare system. Not only does she have to do that, she also has to mastermind a plan of revenge, galvanize the gang, while she is mourning the loss of a woman that had been her life. The novel is an epic of survival, friendship, and a tale of how far one would go to protect and avenge those they hold most dear. “We Go Around In The Nigh And Are Consumer By Fire” is an excellent thriller of a novel unfolding at break neck speed. It is both heartbreaking tender and furious to leave the reader gasping for more.