Polis Loizou
A Good Year
“Rich, resonant, beautifully paced” – Attitude
“An absolute gem” – Historical Novel Review
“Captivating” – Mechanics’ Institute Review
Rural Cyprus, 1925. Despo is recently married, heavily pregnant and deeply afraid. The twelve days of Christmas are beginning – the time when, according to local folklore, creatures known as kalikantzari come up from Hell to wreak havoc. Meanwhile, her husband Loukas has troubles of his own. Struggling with dreams and desires he doesn’t understand, he finds himself irresistibly drawn to an Englishman, a newcomer to the island. In a village wreathed in superstition, Despo and Loukas must protect themselves and their unborn child from ominous forces at play.
Publisher: Fairlight Books
ISBN: 9781914148057
Out now
“A story of illicit passion wrapped in a Cypriot folk tale, A Good Year is spellbinding from start to finish, and confirms Polis Loizou as one of our boldest young writers. Evocative and resonant beyond its final page.”
Dan Coxon, author of Only The Broken Remain and editor of This Dreaming Isle
“With beautifully paced, rich prose, Loizou conjures the heady sights, sounds and smells of Cyprus, while exposing the horror that resides in her superstitions and traditions.”
Lucie McKnight Hardy, author of Water Shall Refuse Them
“Intense and harrowing, A Good Year is a beautifully crafted meditation on the light and shade of the human psyche in which Loizou explores one of the darkest of human fears-that of being ourselves.”
Justin David, author of The Pharmacist
Frequently shot through with a consistently believable sense of dread and terror… a haunting story about subjectivity and the ways in which fear and superstition affect our perception of events…
The Publishing Post
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Photos by Hannah St George. From an event about A Good Year with Phoenix Alexander at Waterstones Gower Street, May 2022.
The Way It Breaks
Orestis is a young man who refuses to accept his lot in life. He wants a better job, a toned body, his own place, a brighter future. On a night out, he bumps into an old school friend who lands him an interview at her father’s 5-star hotel. Orestis feels he is finally on the path to success. That is, until he becomes acquainted with a high-end gigolo who draws him onto a different path – one that takes him to a wealthy Belarusian trophy wife named Darya. Before long, Orestis’ destiny drifts even further out of his control. Set in Cyprus, The Way It Breaks is a modern tale about fate and free will; love and boundaries; and the value of a human being.
Publisher: Cloud Lodge Books
ISBN: 9781838045128
Out now
★★★★
Daniel Bassett
“sure to keep you hooked and leaving you feeling hot under the collar”
Read this wonderful article about my book by David Gordon Wilson! WARNING: contains spoilers.
★★★★
TripFiction
“an impressive work”
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Disbanded Kingdom
Polari First Book Prize 2019 (Long-listed)
22-year-old Oscar is a lost cause. He roams central London, looking for love and distraction. But this isn’t quite Bright Lights, Big City: Oscar is gay but feels disconnected from London’s gay scene. He is naïve and rootless, an emotionally stunted young man who lives in upscale Kensington with his foster mother, novelist Charlotte Fontaine.
But all of this changes when Oscar meets Tim, Charlotte’s thirty-something literary agent with whom he becomes hopelessly infatuated. While he struggles to understand Tim’s politics and his rejection of religion, Oscar’s developing friendship with Tim affects a profound change in the young man, making him want to understand the world and his place in it.
Publisher: Cloud Lodge Books
ISBN: 9780995465794
Out now
“Loizou’s supple prose excels at vivid London scene-scapes […] and sharp social commentary.”
Kirkus Reviews
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Other Publications
Short Stories
- Pixmalion – in Mainstream. Purchase here.
- Take Hold – in Untitled: Voices, Issue 1 Vol. 2. Download for free here.
- His Hand – in Tales From The Shadow Booth, vol. 4. Purchase here.
- Blue Glass Star – in The Stockholm Review of Literature. Read here. Honorable Mention for Glimmer Train’s Family Matters competition.
- ‘Til God – in Litro #135: Somewhere Between the Borders. Read here.
- Devil In Me – Liars’ League NYC, Hope & Pray. Listen / read here. Shortlisted for HISSAC.
- The Seal Wife – Longlisted for the Fish Prize.
Creative Non-Fiction
- Coccyx – in clavmag, Feb 2020 Issue / Bone. Read & listen here.
Other
- Longlisted for Penguin’s WriteNow programme in 2020.
- Shortlisted for the IdeasTap Inspires – Writers’ Centre Norwich competition in 2014.
- Won feedback from the Literary Consultancy as part of the Arts Council’s Free Read Scheme in 2008.
Polis Loizou 