A North East journalist’s debut novel is finally due for release next month – eight years after he set out to find the truth about a famous art world mystery.
Daniel James, 37, of Cullercoats, North Tyneside, will release The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas – described as a ‘brilliant, genre-defying debut novel from a major new talent’ – on 15 November from Dead Ink Books.
To celebrate the novel’s long-awaited publication, the author has announced three unique events, combining book readings, live music, cocktails, and special literary guests.
The book will have its official launch at Forum Books in Corbridge, Northumberland, on Thursday 29th November. Tickets are on sale now at £5 per person and include a cocktail on arrival. Click here to book or call 01434 632 931.
Before then, Daniel will also appear at this year’s Newcastle Book Festival, Books on Tyne 2018, at the City Library, Newcastle, where he will chair a panel featuring four of the UK’s most up-and-coming novelists – SJ Bradley, Haroun Khan, Sophie Hopesmith, and Marc Nash – on
Saturday 24th November at 4pm.
This will be followed by Fiction After Dark – a late-night literary after-party featuring author readings, cocktails, and live music by renowned jazz pianist and composer Paul Edis. Special guests will include North Tyneside’s Victoria Watson and the North East women’s writing
collective, Elementary Sisterhood, as well as debut author Ian Roden and novelists Marc Nash, Haroun Khan and Sophie Hopesmith. Tickets for both events are available via the Books on Tyne 2018 Eventbrite page.
Reclusive British artist Ezra Maas became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s alongside Andy Warhol and Joseph Beuys but withdrew from the spotlight in the 1980s and 1990s before disappearing altogether in the early 2000s. Daniel spent five years travelling around Europe and
the US researching the artist and interviewing people who knew him.
He says: “I always thought Ezra Maas’s life story would make a brilliant novel, but when I started looking into his background, and the mysterious circumstances of his disappearance, I realised the truth was much darker and more complicated than I could have ever imagined.
“As a result, what started out as a biography became a real-life detective novel based on my investigation into his life and disappearance. I can’t wait for people to read the book and find out
the truth for themselves.”
Daniel’s upcoming events:
• 24th November – Books on Tyne 2018 at Newcastle City Library, Newcastle, 4pm. Book here.
• 24th November – Fiction After Dark at The Town Wall, Pink Lane, Newcastle, 7pm onwards. Book here.
• 29th November – the official launch at Forum Books, The Chapel, Corbridge, 6.30pm. Book here or call 01434 632 931.
You can also book tickets for these events by going to: www.ticketsource.co.uk or www.booksontyne.co.uk
The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas will be published by Dead Ink Books on 15th November 2018: www.deadinkbooks.com/ezramaas