Welcome
Cathi Unsworth is a novelist, writer and editor who lives and works in London. She began her career on the legendary music weekly Sounds at the age of 19 and has worked as a writer and editor for many other music, film and arts magazines since, including Bizarre, Melody Maker, Mojo, Uncut, Volume and Deadline.
Her first novel THE NOT KNOWING was published in 2005, followed the next year with the award-winning short story compendium LONDON NOIR, which she edited, and in 2007 with the punk noir novel THE SINGER.
Her new novel BAD PENNY BLUES has recently been published to great critical acclaim (see details below). As well as working on her books, Cathi writes paperback crime reviews for The Guardian and regularly takes part in live events, including screen talks at The Barbican and spoken word gigs organised by Tight Lip and The Sohemian Society.
All her books are published by and available from Serpent's Tail.
Photo: Allison McGourty 2009
Latest News Site Updated 4/2/10
Bad Penny Blues - Out Now!
Cathi's latest novel Bad Penny Blues is now available and has been receiving glowing reviews.
Police Constable Pete Bradley has done one year in the force and dreams of moving up the ladder. He's assigned as an aid to CID and working a routine nightshift with his partner when they stumble across a young woman's body. She was working as a prostitute when she was strangled, her body dumped by a riverbank. His search for her killer brings him deep into Soho's underbelly.
Meanwhile Stella, a young fashion designer with a promising career ahead of her, is woken by terrifying nightmares that echo the last hours of the dead women.
Sixties London explodes in all its ferocious colour, with fascists and Teds, migrants and hippies living in close proximity. Bad Penny Blues is a tender paean to the city, a novel with a twisted mystery at its heart.
Set against the background of 1960's London Bad penny Blues explores the murky world of the unsolved ‘Jack the Stripper’ murders of the 1960s in which the bodies of eight working girls were found in or along the Thames.
The killings sparked the biggest manhunt in Metropolitan Police history, but the killer was never found. In Bad Penny Blues Cathi aims not to solve the mystery, but rather, as she puts it, to “create a parallel universe in which an explanation can be offered that ties together a series of intriguing coincidences uncovered during the course of my research.”
BUY BAD PENNY BLUES HERE
Bad Penny Blues is the English Black Dahlia and will establish Cathi Unsworth as the First Lady of Noir Fiction - David Peace
A haunting and utterly absorbing London noir that takes us to all the bright lights and dark places of the big city - Jake Arnott
A beautifully written and compelling peep into the dark side of London's past. A knock out - Paolo Hewitt
Cathi Unsworth's third novel is another tour de force - Laura Wilson, The Guardian
Bad Penny Blues isn't only one of the best crime novels this year, it's one of the best of the decade - Ray Banks
A smart noir entertainment with the bitter aftertaste of truth - Christopher Fowler, The Financial Times
Fascinating… a time and a place in London that is very close to my heart – Robert Elms
A magnificent tapestry of period and place… confirming her status as one of Britain's most potent writers of noir – Marcel Berlins, The Times
BUY BAD PENNY BLUES HERE
Police Constable Pete Bradley has done one year in the force and dreams of moving up the ladder. He's assigned as an aid to CID and working a routine nightshift with his partner when they stumble across a young woman's body. She was working as a prostitute when she was strangled, her body dumped by a riverbank. His search for her killer brings him deep into Soho's underbelly.
Meanwhile Stella, a young fashion designer with a promising career ahead of her, is woken by terrifying nightmares that echo the last hours of the dead women.
Sixties London explodes in all its ferocious colour, with fascists and Teds, migrants and hippies living in close proximity. Bad Penny Blues is a tender paean to the city, a novel with a twisted mystery at its heart.
Set against the background of 1960's London Bad penny Blues explores the murky world of the unsolved ‘Jack the Stripper’ murders of the 1960s in which the bodies of eight working girls were found in or along the Thames.
The killings sparked the biggest manhunt in Metropolitan Police history, but the killer was never found. In Bad Penny Blues Cathi aims not to solve the mystery, but rather, as she puts it, to “create a parallel universe in which an explanation can be offered that ties together a series of intriguing coincidences uncovered during the course of my research.”
BUY BAD PENNY BLUES HERE
Bad Penny Blues is the English Black Dahlia and will establish Cathi Unsworth as the First Lady of Noir Fiction - David Peace
A haunting and utterly absorbing London noir that takes us to all the bright lights and dark places of the big city - Jake Arnott
A beautifully written and compelling peep into the dark side of London's past. A knock out - Paolo Hewitt
Cathi Unsworth's third novel is another tour de force - Laura Wilson, The Guardian
Bad Penny Blues isn't only one of the best crime novels this year, it's one of the best of the decade - Ray Banks
A smart noir entertainment with the bitter aftertaste of truth - Christopher Fowler, The Financial Times
Fascinating… a time and a place in London that is very close to my heart – Robert Elms
A magnificent tapestry of period and place… confirming her status as one of Britain's most potent writers of noir – Marcel Berlins, The Times
BUY BAD PENNY BLUES HERE
Cathi on Lost Steps, Resonance 104.4fm
Thursday February 4 @ 10.30pm
Cathi will be appearing on Resonance's wonderful LOST STEPS, the radio show hosted by Malcolm Hopkins and produced by Nick Hamilton, that investigates the best of London writing. Cathi will be discussing BAD PENNY BLUES in depth with Malcolm, as well as the inspiration that other London writers, such as Derek Raymond and Patrick Hamilton, have had on her work.
LOST STEPS is dedicated to the discussion and appreciation of aspects of London literature and culture that are seldom discussed in the mainstream media and is often neglected as time passes by. Embracing the clandestine, obscure and esoteric, the shows have been cached on the LOST STEPS website as podcasts, so if you have never heard of them before and wish to dig in to past episodes, you can do so by going HERE
UPDATE: Due to a change in normal scheduling, Resonance will not now be repeating the show on Saturday 6 as previously listed. But a podcast of the show will be made available from Friday 5 February from the above link.
LOST STEPS is dedicated to the discussion and appreciation of aspects of London literature and culture that are seldom discussed in the mainstream media and is often neglected as time passes by. Embracing the clandestine, obscure and esoteric, the shows have been cached on the LOST STEPS website as podcasts, so if you have never heard of them before and wish to dig in to past episodes, you can do so by going HERE
UPDATE: Due to a change in normal scheduling, Resonance will not now be repeating the show on Saturday 6 as previously listed. But a podcast of the show will be made available from Friday 5 February from the above link.
Cathi at Brighton Waterstones
Saturday 13 February, 12noon-3pm
71-74 North Street
Brighton, BN1 1ZA
01273 206 017
FREE EVENT
Cathi will be signing copies of BAD PENNY BLUES at Waterstones, Brighton, between 12noon and 3pm. There will be readings and a Q&A with Tight Lip director and cine-literary event curator for Barbican Film, JAY CLIFTON.
This FREE EVENT was devised by publisher DANNY BOWMAN of PULP PRESS, the hip Brighton imprint dedicated to pulp fiction the way it used to be, whose high quality pocket book editions come lavishly illustrated and dig deep into a hepcat mine of hardboiled noir, rockabilly sleaze, mod cool and westerns. The imprint are actively looking for new authors — especially FEMALE authors — so if you want to start kicking some serious literary ass, check out their site at the link above and go HERE for contributor guidelines.
Brighton, BN1 1ZA
01273 206 017
FREE EVENT
Cathi will be signing copies of BAD PENNY BLUES at Waterstones, Brighton, between 12noon and 3pm. There will be readings and a Q&A with Tight Lip director and cine-literary event curator for Barbican Film, JAY CLIFTON.
This FREE EVENT was devised by publisher DANNY BOWMAN of PULP PRESS, the hip Brighton imprint dedicated to pulp fiction the way it used to be, whose high quality pocket book editions come lavishly illustrated and dig deep into a hepcat mine of hardboiled noir, rockabilly sleaze, mod cool and westerns. The imprint are actively looking for new authors — especially FEMALE authors — so if you want to start kicking some serious literary ass, check out their site at the link above and go HERE for contributor guidelines.
Cathi in Avant! Noir at London Word Festival, 12 March 2010
Toynbee Theatre
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6LS
020 7247 6943
Starts: 7pm
Tickets: £10 advance/£12 door
Cathi will be appearing as part of a very special Avant! Noir night at the acclaimed London Word Festival this March. To the suitably smokin' jazz devillry of Mercury Prize-nominated Led Bibb, she will be appearing alongside writers Courttia Newland and Toby Litt to read a live extract from Bad Penny Blues.
The Toynbee Theatre's Art Deco velvet auditorium provides the perfect setting for bleeding-edge crime stories, intercut with animated chapters of online, collaborative comic strip Huzzah!! Noir.
To find out more and book tickets in advance, go HERE
28 Commercial Street
London E1 6LS
020 7247 6943
Starts: 7pm
Tickets: £10 advance/£12 door
Cathi will be appearing as part of a very special Avant! Noir night at the acclaimed London Word Festival this March. To the suitably smokin' jazz devillry of Mercury Prize-nominated Led Bibb, she will be appearing alongside writers Courttia Newland and Toby Litt to read a live extract from Bad Penny Blues.
The Toynbee Theatre's Art Deco velvet auditorium provides the perfect setting for bleeding-edge crime stories, intercut with animated chapters of online, collaborative comic strip Huzzah!! Noir.
To find out more and book tickets in advance, go HERE
Cathi and Elizabeth Wilson on The Art of the London Thriller, Saturday 13 March, 5pm
The Women's Library Seminar Room
London Metropolitan University
Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT 5pm-6pm
020 7320 2222 Tickets £6/£4 concs available in advance from moreinfo@thewomenslibrary.ac.uk and on the door.
Part of the WISE WORDS FESTIVAL
In a discussion chaired by John Williams Cathi and fellow Serpent's Tail author Elizabeth Wilson will talk about how and why London has inspired their work. Cathi will read from BAD PENNY BLUES and Elizabeth from her acclaimed new novel War Damage, set in the aftermath of World War II.
For more information and directions, please go HERE
London Metropolitan University
Old Castle Street, London E1 7NT 5pm-6pm
020 7320 2222 Tickets £6/£4 concs available in advance from moreinfo@thewomenslibrary.ac.uk and on the door.
Part of the WISE WORDS FESTIVAL
In a discussion chaired by John Williams Cathi and fellow Serpent's Tail author Elizabeth Wilson will talk about how and why London has inspired their work. Cathi will read from BAD PENNY BLUES and Elizabeth from her acclaimed new novel War Damage, set in the aftermath of World War II.
For more information and directions, please go HERE
Listen To Cathi Talk To Robert Elms
Cathi was recently a guest on Robert Elms BBC Radio London show. Use the player below to listen to Robert and Cathi discuss Bad Penny Blues. (Duration 7 mins)
Website Exclusive: Transmission 3
Transmission 3 is the latest sonic meeting between Cathi Unsworth and electronic composer Pete Woodhead.
"The river gave her up as dawn broke on 2 February 1964, stranding her body on a floating pontoon in the Upper Mall. By accident or diabolical design, she lay directly between the previous two murder sites of Chiswick and Mortlake…"
In this website exclusive Cathi reads extracts from her latest novel Bad Penny Blues.
More about this work and High Quality Transmission 1, 2 & 3 file downloads HERE
Use the player below to listen to Transmission 3 now.
(This work is intended for Adult Audiences)
"The river gave her up as dawn broke on 2 February 1964, stranding her body on a floating pontoon in the Upper Mall. By accident or diabolical design, she lay directly between the previous two murder sites of Chiswick and Mortlake…"
In this website exclusive Cathi reads extracts from her latest novel Bad Penny Blues.
More about this work and High Quality Transmission 1, 2 & 3 file downloads HERE
Use the player below to listen to Transmission 3 now.
(This work is intended for Adult Audiences)
BFI Flipside That Kind of Girl sleevenotes
Cathi has written the sleevenotes for the BFI Flipside new release of GERRY O'HARA's 1963 'Shock film of the year!' THAT KIND OF GIRL.
In the same, early 1960s milieau as BAD PENNY BLUES and touching on many similar subjects to the book, Margaret-Rose Keil plays a beautiful au pair wrestling with the affections of three different men. Fun and freedom is turned into shame and despair when she realises that she has put the health of her lovers and their partners – including Janet (Linda Marlowe) – at risk.
Shot against a backdrop of smoky jazz clubs and the CND Aldermaston marches, this finely-tuned cautionary tale is the directorial debut of GERRY O'HARA, who would go on to probe the sexual mores and societal attitudes of the Sixties and Seventies in The Pleasure Girls (1965), All The Right Noises (1969) and The Brute (1976). It is released on JANUARY 25 and presented in a new High Definition transfer.
Extras include:
The People at No 19 (JB Holmes, 1948, 18 mins): an intense melodrama that explores the themes of THAT KIND OF GIRL in a previous era.
No Place to Hide (Derrick Knight, 1959, 9 mins): a snapshot of the CND march from Aldermaston to London.
A Sunday in September (James Hill, 1961, 28 mins): a compelling documentary about a nuclear disarmament demo in London, with Vanessa Redgrave, Doris Lessing and John Osbourne.
Robert Hartford-Davis interview (1968, 13 mins): THAT KIND OF GIRL's producer discusses the film and his career.
Extensive illustrated booklet with essays by Cathi and Gerry O'Hara.
Dolby Digital mono audio
You can by the movie and find out more about BFI Flipside HERE
In the same, early 1960s milieau as BAD PENNY BLUES and touching on many similar subjects to the book, Margaret-Rose Keil plays a beautiful au pair wrestling with the affections of three different men. Fun and freedom is turned into shame and despair when she realises that she has put the health of her lovers and their partners – including Janet (Linda Marlowe) – at risk.
Shot against a backdrop of smoky jazz clubs and the CND Aldermaston marches, this finely-tuned cautionary tale is the directorial debut of GERRY O'HARA, who would go on to probe the sexual mores and societal attitudes of the Sixties and Seventies in The Pleasure Girls (1965), All The Right Noises (1969) and The Brute (1976). It is released on JANUARY 25 and presented in a new High Definition transfer.
Extras include:
The People at No 19 (JB Holmes, 1948, 18 mins): an intense melodrama that explores the themes of THAT KIND OF GIRL in a previous era.
No Place to Hide (Derrick Knight, 1959, 9 mins): a snapshot of the CND march from Aldermaston to London.
A Sunday in September (James Hill, 1961, 28 mins): a compelling documentary about a nuclear disarmament demo in London, with Vanessa Redgrave, Doris Lessing and John Osbourne.
Robert Hartford-Davis interview (1968, 13 mins): THAT KIND OF GIRL's producer discusses the film and his career.
Extensive illustrated booklet with essays by Cathi and Gerry O'Hara.
Dolby Digital mono audio
You can by the movie and find out more about BFI Flipside HERE
Cathi Unsworth's Wire portal
For the week of 4-8 January, Cathi was a guest contributor to The Wire's website. Having contributed to the current print issue's Epiphanies column with a piece on Gallon Drunk and Derek Raymond, the website ran a series of portals featuring Cathi's favourite websites, an exclusive extract from The Not Knowing describing the Camden Town of the early Nineties, and, from Gallon Drunk and Derek Raymond themselves, the track Roatta from the Dora Suarez album.
Click here for cache of all articles
Click here for cache of all articles
New Video Now Online
On a weekend in July 2006, more than 20 established writers read their work to an audience of rock 'n' roll fans as part of the Latitude Rock Festival in Suffolk, England.
See Cathi interviewed and reading from The Not Knowing in Vox 'n' Roll on the VIDEO page.
See Cathi interviewed and reading from The Not Knowing in Vox 'n' Roll on the VIDEO page.
BFI Flipside Man of Violence sleevenotes
Cathi has written an essay for the BFI's reissue of Peter Walker's 1971 underworld thriller Man of Violence, now available on the Flipside series. In a world of gangs and villains, one man - Moon - will stop at nothing to get the girl and take the spoils. Pete Walker's affectionate low-budget homage to the gangster thriller is packed with sights and sounds from a Britain about to swing out of the sixties and into a somewhat less optimistic decade.
The release includes the following special features:
Both films transferred to High Definition from the original negatives
The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) (1968, 68 mins)
The Big Switch: Alternative export cut of (77 mins) (Blu-ray exclusive extra)
Original trailers for Man of Violence and The Big Switch
Alternative Moon title-card
Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned contributions from Cathi Unsworth, screenwriter and critic David McGillivray, and film historian Julian Petley.
BUY IT HERE
The release includes the following special features:
Both films transferred to High Definition from the original negatives
The Big Switch (aka Strip Poker) (1968, 68 mins)
The Big Switch: Alternative export cut of (77 mins) (Blu-ray exclusive extra)
Original trailers for Man of Violence and The Big Switch
Alternative Moon title-card
Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned contributions from Cathi Unsworth, screenwriter and critic David McGillivray, and film historian Julian Petley.
BUY IT HERE
Cathi Unsworth 2009