New Koomson novel set on Brighton seafront

Fans of Britain's best-selling adult fiction writer Dorothy Koomson will be pleased to know her new novel, Beach Hut 512, due out on Tuesday is set on Brighton's seafront.

The thriller delves into what goes on behind those brightly painted doors on beach huts, after a body is found in one.

Koomson moved to Brighton in 2007 and says it is a good place to be a writer.

"I love living by the sea", she said. "There's nothing like a good walk along the seafront to clear your head or to work out the knots in a plot."

Koomson's books are regularly Sunday Times bestsellers, have sold over 2.5 million copies in the UK and have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Her novels include My Other Husband, The Chocolate Run, and The Ice Cream Girls, which was made into a 3-part TV series.

Dorothy is known for her emotional, thought-provoking emotional thrillers, but she is passionate about increasing child literacy, and getting more children reading for pleasure.

She wrote her first novel when she was only 13 and has not stopped writing since.

"Historic research has shown that having a range of books available to children is so important to build empathy and allow all sorts of children to feel seen and that they and their lives are important," Koomson told the BBC.

According to research by the National Literacy Trust last year, just 1 in 3 children in the UK enjoy reading, the lowest percentage since 2005.

That same research found just 1 in 10 children and young people aged 5 to 18 say they do not have a book of their own at home.

Forty percent of children and young people from ethnic minority backgrounds say that they do not see themselves in what they read.

This is particularly true for children and young people from Black ethnic backgrounds, which Koomson says needs to change.

Koomson said: "All children deserve to see that they can be the main character in a story; that children like them can do extraordinary things.

"The recent research that shows that diversity in children's books has decreased is very disheartening."

Koomson featured on the 2021 Powerlist as one of the most influential Black people in Britain, appeared in GQ Style as a Black British trailblazer, and was a judge for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction.

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