Granta ‘Best of Young British Novelists’ author Graeme Armstrong’s RAVEHEART Pre-Empted by 4th Estate

Photo: Alice Zoo

RAVEHEART, a love letter to rave and thrilling ride of a novel by Graeme Armstrong, has been acquired in a hotly contested pre-empt by HarperCollins imprint 4th Estate. A high NRG, whip-smart look at the state of modern Britain through the eyes of a disparate band of rave rebels, RAVEHEART is George Orwell’s 1984 meets cult classic film HUMAN TRAFFIC.

The novel will be published in Spring 2026 after Michelle Kane, Publishing Director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights (excluding Canada) from Juliet Pickering. In a separate deal, multi-BAFTA winning production company Warp Films (THIS IS ENGLAND, FOUR LIONS, EVERYBODY’S TALKING ABOUT JAMIE) have optioned TV/Film rights from Conrad Williams.

‘I feel lucky to have both my dream imprint at 4th Estate and editor, Michelle Kane, at the helm on this fever dream of a novel which has taken the best bit of a decade to create,’ said Graeme. ‘While the majority of my work on the page, screen and community deals with hard-hitting social themes, RAVEHEART speaks to the pure joy of rave culture we experienced first-hand in its mid-2000s renaissance in Scotland, and to an ever more challenging world beyond. The incredible heritage of Scottish rave pioneers before us, combined with our generation’s bedroom bootlegging PCDJ craze made for years of endless energy (albeit some chemical) pure passion and mad memories. These are the nostalgic driving forces of RAVEHEART, and I can’t wait to share it with the rave and literary communities. Glowsticks at the ready, troops. We’re going in.’

‘Graeme Armstrong is a once in a generation writer – vivid, uncompromising, whip-smart and powerful – and this novel comes at the reader with the kind of force that challenges their world view,’ Michelle Kane added. ‘Terrifyingly prescient and uproariously funny, RAVEHEART is set to be a modern classic and to say that I am excited to be working with a writer like Graeme who is such a singular and original talent is to understate it – we have huge ambition for him at 4th Estate and we are extremely excited and honoured to have him on the list.’

Juliet Pickering says: ‘RAVEHEART is like nothing else – playing with form, politics, character, place – and it should be injected into our veins: a fizzing, witty, total high of a novel, brilliantly deconstructing the bigotry of modern politics, and one of the best novels on male friendship I’ve ever read. I can’t wait for everyone else to feel its heady, knockout punch to the brain.’

William Patterson – better known as DJ Turbo – is living a soulless existence after his glory days as resident spinner at a local Coatbridge ice rink, The Time Capsule, have been snatched from him. As a far-right UK regime sweeps to power, ‘The New Greatest Britishest Party’ cracks down on youth, culture, drugs and – the final straw – electronica. Incensed by a blanket ban of their beloved tunes, Turbo and his comrades launch a rave revolt – resurrecting the illegal warehouse parties of the past in this new darker, monolithic Greatest Britain, as a powerful act of resistance.

But, as the political situation escalates and secret police surveil every corner of society, Turbo and his troops fly ever closer to the sun in the dangerous world of the anti-rave abolitionist paramilitary. Mixing classic hardcore anthems, nu-gen euphoria enthusiasts and psychotropic chemical courtships, they will fight the war for the rave. Deciding who to trust… and who may betray the cause is everything. The future of the whole nation is on the line… can Turbo be the hero not just of rave, but of Scotland?

Hilarious, tragic and incredibly clever all at once, this unique, narcotic trip of a novel is a modern, meta, mayhem-filled cultural coup d'état and cult-classic in the making, written in an inimitable and energetic voice, from one of the most electrifying young writers in Britain today.

About Graeme Armstrong

Graeme Armstrong is a Scottish writer from Airdrie. His teenage years were spent within North Lanarkshire’s gang culture. Alongside overcoming his own struggles with drug addiction, alcohol abuse and violence, he defied expectation to read English as an undergraduate at the University of Stirling; where, after graduating with honours, he returned to study a Masters’ in Creative Writing. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde.

Graeme regularly works within the community visiting prisons and schools, giving talks on his experiences of gang-culture and substance abuse. He promotes a message of anti-violence and abstinence-based recovery.

His bestselling debut novel, THE YOUNG TEAM (Picador, 2020), is inspired by his experiences. It won a Betty Trask Award, a Somerset Maugham Award, and the Scots Book o the Year 2021.

In 2021, Graeme presented SCOTLAND THE RAVE, a documentary broadcast by the BBC that explored Scotland’s rave and PCDJ culture, subsequently nominated for a BAFTA Scotland and RTS Scotland Award 2022. His second documentary series, STREET GANGS, where Graeme reflects on his own past as an ex-gang member to try to understand life inside a modern gang, aired on the BBC in October 2023.

In 2023, Graeme was chosen as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists, an accolade that is awarded once a decade.

Praise for Graeme Armstrong

‘Graeme Armstrong is the real deal.’ – Douglas Stuart

‘One of the most admired young voices in British fiction’ – Mike Wade, The Times

‘Has proved the novel form is still alive and kicking… a genuine literary phenomenon… Indeed, Armstrong is that rare thing, a writer whose work has become a tangible part of a social material, as has Armstrong himself.’ – James Taylor, Metal Magazine

‘Armstrong makes language slam-dance and pirouette, using an endless variety of relishable words and phrases.’ – The Guardian

‘His work is vivid, dynamic and sharp as a whip; his capacity to surprise the reader distinct and powerful.’ – Janice Galloway

Follow Graeme on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram.

Graeme Armstrong’s documentary STREET GANGS to air on BBC

Credit: BBC

STREET GANGS, a new documentary series presented by Graeme Armstrong and inspired by his novel THE YOUNG TEAM, will premiere on the BBC this Wednesday (5 October 2023). In Scotland, the programme will be broadcast on BBC Scotland at 10pm on Wednesday; viewers in both Scotland and the rest of the UK will be able to watch on BBC iPlayer shortly after.

In the three-part series ex-gang member Graeme Armstrong travels to forgotten areas of Scotland to shine a light on the allure of gang life. He encounters drill musicians and street gang members, while also exploring his own past, and tries to understand why young people are seduced by the perceived glamour and excitement of gang life by speaking to young people themselves. The series will also include interviews with the actor and filmmaker Peter Mullan (TRAINSPOTTING, MY NAME IS JOE, NEDS) and Dundonian rapper Eugene.

About the series, Graeme told Connie McLaughlin for BBC Radio Scotland: ‘this is the natural evolution for me now – if you’re not part of the gang, you’re trying to prevent gang culture… If you want to interrupt something like gang culture, you need to understand it. Looking at the past will tell you a lot of information about it, but what we need to do is go and listen and speak to young people, and see what they want to say: so we’ve given a voice to people who don’t have one, and that opportunity, that’s what the series is all about. There’s two journeys: there’s my journey into the past, but there’s also these kids’ journey into the future.’

You can hear more of Graeme’s interview with BBC Radio Scotland here (from 1:11:10).

The series is produced by Harry Bell for Tern TV, and the series producer is Pete Stanton. The directors are Jo Pagan and Alistair Ferguson, as part of BBC Scotland and Screen Scotland’s new initiative backing emerging directors.

About Graeme Armstrong

Graeme Armstrong is a Scottish writer from Airdrie. His teenage years were spent within North Lanarkshire’s gang culture. Alongside overcoming his own struggles with drug addiction, alcohol abuse and violence, he defied expectation to read English as an undergraduate at the University of Stirling; where, after graduating with honours, he returned to study a Masters’ in Creative Writing. He is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde.

Graeme regularly works within the community visiting prisons and schools, giving talks on his experiences of gang-culture and substance abuse. He promotes a message of anti-violence and abstinence-based recovery.

His bestselling debut novel, THE YOUNG TEAM (Picador, 2020), is inspired by his experiences. It won a Betty Trask Award, a Somerset Maugham Award, and the Scots Book o the Year 2021.

In 2021, Graeme presented Scotland: The Rave, a documentary broadcast by the BBC that explored Scotland’s rave and PCDJ culture, subsequently nominated for a BAFTA Scotland and RTS Scotland Award 2022.

In 2023, Graeme was chosen as one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists, an accolade that is awarded once a decade.

Praise for Graeme Armstrong and THE YOUNG TEAM

‘Graeme Armstrong is the real deal.’ – Douglas Stuart

‘One of the most admired young voices in British fiction’ – Mike Wade, The Times

‘Has proved the novel form is still alive and kicking… a genuine literary phenomenon… Indeed, Armstrong is that rare thing, a writer whose work has become a tangible part of a social material, as has Armstrong himself.’ – James Taylor, Metal Magazine

‘Gives us a voice from a place – geographically and socio-economically – we don’t often hear from’ – John Self, The Times

‘Armstrong’s hard-hitting novel is TRAINSPOTTING for a new generation’ – Independent

‘An instant Scottish classic… While its dialect might make THE YOUNG TEAM seem like a story rooted in the specificity of its location, the novel’s exploration of mental health and drug use tells a universal tale of working-class masculinity’ — The Skinny

‘A swaggering, incendiary debut… Sharp yet tender and mischievously funny, THE YOUNG TEAM pitches Armstrong straight into the first division of Scottish writers.’ – Jude Cook, The Guardian

Follow Graeme on Twitter

THE YOUNG TEAM by Graeme Armstrong picked up for adaptation by Synchronicity Films

We are thrilled to announce that Graeme Armstrong’s bestselling novel has been optioned by Scottish production company Synchronicity Films, the producers behind THE CRY.

THE YOUNG TEAM was published by Picador in 2020 and follows Azzy on his journey through teenagehood, as he spirals into the world of addiction and gangs, and discovers that getting out isn’t easy. Synchronicity’s adaptation will be headed up by emerging writer Ben Tagoe and BAFTA-winning Adrian McDowall is attached to direct.

Graeme Armstrong said: “I am absolutely buzzing to be working with Claire Mundell at Synchronicity and the team to develop ‘The Young Team’ for the screen. Their understanding of the landscape, both geographical and cultural, has made for an exciting coming together of multiple talents. Screenwriter Ben Tagoe has first-hand understanding of the transition of U.K. youth culture from ’80s terrace casuals and rave pioneers into the new and darker world of ‘00s Scottish young team gang culture. His experiences and voice are akin to my own, Already, there is a deep respect for this story, shared responsibility around working-class representation and the handling of important themes of gang violence, poverty, addiction and mental health. I cannot wait to see Synchronicity bring it to life. ‘The Young Team’ is in very safe hands.”

Praise for THE YOUNG TEAM:

'Raw and lyrical . . . written in a voice that recalls Irvine Welsh and Alan Warner - dialect that fizzes off the page.' - The Observer

'Graeme Armstrong's debut novel is an instant Scottish classic.' - The Skinny

'Vivid, dynamic and sharp as a whip.' - Janice Galloway, author of The Trick is to Keep Breathing

'[A] gripping debut novel . . . [Armstrong] is quite a phenomenon . . . one of the most admired young voices in British fiction.' - Mike Wade, The Times

Read more about the deal here

Follow Graeme on Twitter here

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