Welcome to the official Joolz Denby website.
We are pleased to announce that Joolz received an
Honorary Doctorate Of Letters
from Bradford University on December 5th, 2007.
~*~
'For the past twenty-five years, Joolz Denby has been a wild card on the literary scene, treading a line from spine-chilling performance-poet to Orange Prize-nominated novelist. She remains an endearingly forthright figure, taking stories from life’s darkest corners and lacing them with humour and the hint of better times to come. As such, her performances are never less than mesmerising.' Apples & Snakes 2008.
~*~
Following Joolz' recent readings in America, Germany & London, she will read at The Corporation, Sheffield on May 9th - for details of all Joolz' forthcoming gigs please check out our Live Readings section.
Joolz will also be appearing (her 24th year as an artist) at this year's Glastonbury Festival; she will have 3 shows with 'Death By Rock N' Roll' in La Belle Epoque Marquee & one solo spot in the Cabaret Marquee. She will also be reading at Beautiful Days Festival on August 17th.
~*~
We are pleased to announce that Joolz received an
Honorary Doctorate Of Letters
from Bradford University on December 5th, 2007.
~*~
'For the past twenty-five years, Joolz Denby has been a wild card on the literary scene, treading a line from spine-chilling performance-poet to Orange Prize-nominated novelist. She remains an endearingly forthright figure, taking stories from life’s darkest corners and lacing them with humour and the hint of better times to come. As such, her performances are never less than mesmerising.' Apples & Snakes 2008.
~*~
Following Joolz' recent readings in America, Germany & London, she will read at The Corporation, Sheffield on May 9th - for details of all Joolz' forthcoming gigs please check out our Live Readings section.
Joolz will also be appearing (her 24th year as an artist) at this year's Glastonbury Festival; she will have 3 shows with 'Death By Rock N' Roll' in La Belle Epoque Marquee & one solo spot in the Cabaret Marquee. She will also be reading at Beautiful Days Festival on August 17th.
~*~
Honorary Doctorate Of Letters
from Bradford University on December 5th, 2007.
~*~
'For the past twenty-five years, Joolz Denby has been a wild card on the literary scene, treading a line from spine-chilling performance-poet to Orange Prize-nominated novelist. She remains an endearingly forthright figure, taking stories from life’s darkest corners and lacing them with humour and the hint of better times to come. As such, her performances are never less than mesmerising.' Apples & Snakes 2008.
~*~
Following Joolz' recent readings in America, Germany & London, she will read at The Corporation, Sheffield on May 9th - for details of all Joolz' forthcoming gigs please check out our Live Readings section.
Joolz will also be appearing (her 24th year as an artist) at this year's Glastonbury Festival; she will have 3 shows with 'Death By Rock N' Roll' in La Belle Epoque Marquee & one solo spot in the Cabaret Marquee. She will also be reading at Beautiful Days Festival on August 17th.
~*~
Chapter One
'Once upon a time, long ago and far away, I had everything you’re supposed to want. All the stuff they tell you about on the telly and in the celeb mags, the lifestyle you’re supposed to die for. I had a good job at a major record company, a bijou loft apartment in London, the parties, the clothes, the gorgeous rock-star boyfriend, the cocaine, the champagne, the permanent guest-list at the kind of clubs that pissed-up silicone sculpted glamour-models are paparazzi’d leaving with a Premier League footballer in tow and without their knickers.
The Brit Awards. AAA passes to everything from Unsigned Bands Night at some tiny, hip club to The Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and The Stones Honest-To-God-Final-Goodbye concert at Wembley - all four nights. I had invites to everything; the OK wedding of a whippet-sized chart-topping popstrelle and her thicko backing-dancer fiancé, the openings of the hottest new bars, clubs, galleries, boutiques; oh, you name it, I turned it down because I couldn’t be arsed. Or I went, and made out like I was bored stiff, which mostly, I was, celeb culture not being all that, in actuality . . .
Oh, but . . . Last night was - I can’t think about it, I can’t. What have I done? God in heaven, what have I done? I thought I was right, you know? I was so convinced I was right, I thought I was doing the decent thing, being stand-up, a real heroine. But it’s such a mess, such a mess.
And Wild Thing is out there. On the frost-silvered black hillside. I know what he’ll look like; I’ve watched him so many times before. He’ll be a dark shape cut out of the icy ground and the sharp diamond glitter of the freezing stars; sinuous, silent, full of power; a shadow moving this way like thunder creeping over the horizon. You’d never spot him if you didn’t know how to look for him. But I know. I know.
He’s on his way home.
He loves me.'
And Wild Thing is out there. On the frost-silvered black hillside. I know what he’ll look like; I’ve watched him so many times before. He’ll be a dark shape cut out of the icy ground and the sharp diamond glitter of the freezing stars; sinuous, silent, full of power; a shadow moving this way like thunder creeping over the horizon. You’d never spot him if you didn’t know how to look for him. But I know. I know.
He’s on his way home.
He loves me.'
Be sure to visit
featuring Joolz' latest drawings
and
designs for tattoos.
and
designs for tattoos.
'Borrowed Light' (Serpent's Tail) released February 14th, 2006: Joolz' fourth novel is a dark tale of dangerous infatuation, betrayal and violence, set against the idyllic backdrop of a Cornish surfing village.
'Borrowed Light' is a most impressive piece of work and I have enjoyed it tremendously. This author just gets better and better and this may be her best work yet. She has an enviable ability to portray real people and real places with verve, poetry and passion. This book follows her well deserved short-listing for the Orange Prize with 'Billie Morgan' and, in my view, this one is even better. Joolz Denby is in the forefront of real writers today and I hope this one does very well. It certainly deserves to. Joanne Harris Read more praise for Joolz' latest novel 'Borrowed Light' (Serpent's Tail) in the Reviews section. Also, read an interview and listen to an audio clip of Joolz reading a short extract from 'Borrowed Light' on the BBC website:
the amazingly pretty official myspace page for Joolz' forthcoming novel, 'Wild Thing'. Also, now find Joolz on Facebook!
'Joolz Denby is a cool, unaffected author who remains candid and original despite gaining notable critical success. . . These days writing is about being cutting edge and original, and Joolz Denby is certainly that. ' Leeds Student.
Also check out Joolz talking about her beloved Bradford on www.youtube.com/bradfordnewcity
JOOLZ' NOVEL 'BILLIE MORGAN' WAS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2005 ORANGE PRIZE & the CWA 2005 'DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY' AWARD
'Haunting and lyrical, with a quietly devastating conclusion, Billie Morgan (Serpent's Tail) is that rare beast: a novel that speaks profoundly of loss, of sacrifice, and of pain, yet never loses sight of the one immutable truth that, without love, we are nothing. It confirms Joolz Denby as one of the most talented and humane novelists that we have. . .' John Connolly
'Reading Billie Morgan is like being strapped to the back of a speeding biker's rig: it's an exhilarating, thrilling, terrifying experience. You don't know where or how it'll end, but you'd better brace yourself for the impact. Joolz Denby has a rare ability in contemporary British crime fiction: she takes you inside the damaged hearts and heads of her characters, shows you hope and despair are often the same thing, makes you care about them. If Jim Thompson had been born female and lived in Bradford, these are the books he would be writing.' Martyn Waites
Welcome to Joolz' website; her latest novel 'Borrowed Light' was released on February 14th 2006 and has had had rave reviews from The Guardian, BBC Radio 4's 'Front Row', BBC Radio 3's 'The Verb' through to 'The Phill Jupitus Breakfast Show' (BBC Radio 6). Read the first three chapters for FREE on our Fiction & Poetry page, where you can also read chapters from previous novels, a selection of short stories and of course, Joolz' poetry. On our Media page you can view a selection of her photography - and hopefully soon her amazing artwork including her fantastic tattoo art - and listen to her recite. Please check out news of her legendary spoken-word events on the Live Readings section - Joolz is an award-winning spoken-word artist with 30 years experience, she is regarded by many as the Queen Of British Spoken Word, and with good reason! You can also join in discussions and debates on the Noticeboard. Over the years, Joolz' has created work in many different fields of art, but all have been characterised by her strong narrative voice, distinctive style, undoubted ability and compassionate view of the human condition. We hope this website will go some way towards reflecting her passion for storytelling in all media and the worlds she has created. We will be trying to bring new material to the site as often as we can, so do check in now and again. Best wishes from us here in Bradford to you out there, wherever you are.
See Live Readings for latest performance, readings and event dates - new dates coming in all the time.
As Mark, an inmate of HMP Haverigg said of Joolz' gig at the prison: "Joolz was more fun than a bag full of hamsters on speed". Well, what more could possibly be said?