Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile

SHORTLISTED FOR THE PORTICO PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE
'A beautiful period piece of 1980s Britain, as funny and sad as anything by Dunbar herself' Alex Preston, Observer (Books of the Year)
'An outstanding debut novel' Yorkshire Post
'It fizzes like two Disprin in a pint of cider . . . You can read it in an afternoon and should; there are too few British novels as effervescent or as relevant as this' Andy Miller, Spectator Best known for her classic black comedy Rita, Sue and Bob Too, Andrea Dunbar wrote three plays before dying at a tragically young age. This new literary portrayal features a cast of real and imagined characters set against the backdrop of the infamous Buttershaw estate during the Thatcher era. A bittersweet tale of the north/south divide, it reveals how a shy teenage girl defied the circumstances into which she was born and went on to become one of her generation's greatest dramatists. Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile is a poignant piece of kitchen sink noir that tells Dunbar's compelling story in print for the very first time. Adelle Stripe's writing has been described as having 'an abundance of life, from the casually joyful to the casually harrowing, but always profoundly empathetic'. Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile is her keenly anticipated debut novel.

Adelle Stripe was born in 1976 and grew up in Tadcaster. Her debut novel, Black Teeth and a Brilliant Smile, was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Portico Prize, an award for outstanding literature that best evokes the spirit of the North. A stage adaptation received widespread critical acclaim and was included in the Observer's Top Ten Shows of 2019. Her most recent book, Ten Thousand Apologies, was a Sunday Times bestseller. As a journalist, she has contributed to The Quietus, New Statesman and Record Collector. She is a recipient of Manchester University's Anthony Burgess Fellowship. Her forthcoming memoir, Base Notes: The Scents of a Life, will be published in 2025 by White Rabbit.