Words with bite

Writer, Steven Hall, has hit the big-time

A Hull-based author whose first novel 'The Raw Shark Texts' is earning rave reviews across the world will be one of the stars of this year's Humber Mouth arts and literature festival.

Steven Hall (32), from west Hull, has just completed a coast-to-coast tour of the United States to promote his book, but it will be meeting readers from closer to home that fills him with most pride.
"I used to work on the Humber Mouth festival and helped to run it behind the scenes so to be featuring in it now means a lot to me. In a way I've come full circle and I hope my experiences will inspire other would-be writers and novelists in Hull.
"The last few months have been really hectic. My publishers flew me to Amsterdam to promote the book and then to Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis, Portland, Chicago, New York, Boston and Miami.
"I've been taking part in literature festivals and I've been doing public readings and interviews for radio and television.
"I received a lot of encouragement with my writing when I worked on Humber Mouth so I would like to thank all my friends and former colleagues. Without them I might not have finished the book. So I'm really looking forward to my public reading in Hull."
Steven's book is about a man who wakes to find he is suffering from amnesia and knows nothing about himself whatsoever. He tries to piece together his life while being pursued from Hull to Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester by a 'conceptual' shark that is hell-bent on devouring his memories.
The novel has been translated into 30 languages and is on sale in countries as far afield as Brazil, Russia and South Korea.
There is also talk of making 'The Raw Shark Texts' into a feature film, and a screenplay is now being written by Simon Booth who wrote the screenplay for hit film the Full Monty.
"I've taken my share of criticism and knock-backs from publishers over the years but always believed in myself and kept going," Steven adds. "It's taken me 10 years of work to become an overnight success."