Playwright Alan Ayckbourn Releases First Novel, THE DIVIDE

Alan Ayckbourn is releasing his first novel, The Divide! Published by PS Publishing, The Divide is a fable that unflinchingly examines a dystopian society of brutal repression, forbidden love and seething insurrection.

The playwright will launch the novel at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre on Thursday 12 September.

The celebrated novelist Soween Clay-Flyn recalls a period in recent history based on documents of the time, including her own personal diary as a young girl who lived through it and survived to tell the tale.

In the aftermath of a deadly contagion which has decimated the population, contact between men and women has become fatal.

Under the dictates of an unseen authoritarian leader known as The Preacher, an unthinkable solution has been enforced.

Soween and her older brother Elihu grow up learning the ways of their tightly controlled society. Then to Soween's alarm, Elihu, as he reaches pubescence, risks not only fatal disease but also threatens to ignite a bloody revolution.

Alan Ayckbourn says: "This is a new experience for me. Eighty-three plays, God knows how many nerve-racking theatre press nights and now this. The very first book launch of my very first novel.

"Lord, the things you take on at 80!"

Nicky Crowther, of PS Publishing, says: "Straddling literary genres for almost a quarter century during which time we have championed work by some of the finest talents in the business, PS Publishing is proud to announce The Divide, the debut novel from Alan Ayckbourn, one of the world's most gifted playwrights."

The Divide will be launched at a free-to-attend event at the SJT from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on 12 September, in between performances of Alan's two shows at the SJT this summer, Season's Greetings (matinee) and Birthdays Past, Birthdays Present (evening).

The author will be on hand to sign copies of the book, which will be available at the event in a hardcover at £20 (discounted from £25); subsequently, a paperback and a signed slipcased hardcover will also be made available.

Originally written as a 'narrative for voices', The Divide was performed at the SJT in 2015, then at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2017 and at London's Old Vic in 2018.