The Accidental pans in on the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family one hot summer. There a beguiling stranger called Amber appears at the door bearing all sorts of unexpected gifts, trampling over family boundaries and sending each of the Smarts scurrying from the dark into the light. A novel about the ways that seemingly chance encounters irrevocably transform our understanding of ourselves, The Accidental explores the nature of truth, the role of fate and the power of storytelling.

'My mother began me one evening in 1968 on a table in the cafe of the town's only cinema . . .' One hot summer a stranger arrives at the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family. Intriguing, beguiling, arresting, Amber brings love, joy, pain and not a little upheaval, throwing the carefully ordered world of the Smarts into the air. They will be forever changed by Amber but how will they know whether it is for the bad, the good or something else entirely? 'Joyous ... writing as rapture, as giddy delight' The Times 'Funny, sexy, poignant, bewitching' Observer

"My mother began me one evening in 1968 on a table in the cafe of the town’s only cinema..." One hot summer a stranger arrives at the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family. Intriguing, beguiling, arresting, Amber brings love, joy, pain and not a little upheaval, throwing the carefully ordered world of the Smarts into the air. They will be forever changed by Amber but how will they know whether it is for the bad, the good or something else entirely?

"My mother began me one evening in 1968 on a table in the cafe of the town’s only cinema..." One hot summer a stranger arrives at the Norfolk holiday home of the Smart family. Intriguing, beguiling, arresting, Amber brings love, joy, pain and not a little upheaval, throwing the carefully ordered world of the Smarts into the air. They will be forever changed by Amber but how will they know whether it is for the bad, the good or something else entirely?

The unmissable new work from Ali Smith, following the dazzling Man Booker-shortlisted Seasonal quartet 'A story is never an answer. A story is always a question.' Here we are in extraordinary times. Is this history? What happens when we cease to trust governments, the media, each other? What have we lost? What stays with us? What does it take to unlock our future? Following her astonishing quartet of Seasonal novels, Ali Smith again lights a way for us through the nightmarish now, in a vital celebration of companionship in all its forms. 'Every hello, like every voice, holds its story ready, waiting.'

A1StarboyCo-producer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Cirkut*, Doc McKinneyEngineer – Cirkut*, Doc McKinney, Florian Lagatta, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesFeaturing, Producer – Daft PunkMixed By – Serban GheneaWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Henry Russell Walter*, Jason Quenneville, Martin McKinney, Thomas Bangalter3:50A2Party MonsterBacking Vocals – Lana Del ReyEngineer – Ben Billions*, Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Mix Engineer Assistant] – Jeff Jackson (7), Robin FlorentEngineer [Mix Engineer] – Chris GallandMixed By – Manny MarroquinProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ben Billions*, Doc McKinneyWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Benjamin Diehl*, Lana Del Rey, Martin McKinney4:09A3False AlarmCo-producer – Cirkut*, Mano*Engineer – Ben Billions*, Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesGuitar [Additional] – Simon ChristensonMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Doc McKinneyWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Benjamin Diehl*, Emmanuel Nickerson, Henry Russell Walter*, Martin McKinney3:40A4ReminderEngineer – Cirkut*, Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Mix Engineer Assistant] – Jeff Jackson (7), Robin FlorentEngineer [Mix Engineer] – Chris GallandKeyboards [Additional], Bass [Live] – Dylan WigginsMixed By – Manny MarroquinProducer – Cirkut*, Doc McKinney, Mano*Written-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Dylan Wiggins, Emmanuel Nickerson, Henry Russell Walter*, Jason Quenneville, Martin McKinney3:38A5Rockin’Co-producer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*Engineer – Sam HollandEngineer [Assistant] – Cory Bice, Jeremy LertolaEngineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Ali Payami, Max MartinVocals [Additional] – Kazue Lika TatsushimaWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Ali Payami, Max Martin, Peter Svensson, Savan Kotecha3:52B1SecretsAcoustic Guitar – Adrian EcclestonDrums [Additional], Keyboards [Additional] – Dylan WigginsEngineer – Cirkut*, Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Cirkut*, Doc McKinneyWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, G. Canler*, Dylan Wiggins, Henry Russell Walter*, J. Marions*, Martin McKinney, M. Skill*, P. Solley*, Ronald Orzabal*, W. Palamarchuk*4:25B2True ColorsEngineer – David SchwerkoltEngineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Benny Blanco (3), Cashmere Cat, Jake One, Swish (6)Written-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Benjamin Levin, Brittany Hazzard, Jacob Dutton (2), Magnus August Hoiberg*, Samuel Wishkoski*, William Thomas Walsh3:26B3Stargirl InterludeEngineer – Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Mix Engineer Assistant] – Jeff Jackson (7), Robin FlorentEngineer [Mix Engineer] – Chris GallandFeaturing – Lana Del ReyMixed By – Manny MarroquinProducer – Doc McKinney, LabrinthWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Lana Del Rey, Martin McKinney, Timothy McKenzie1:51B4SidewalksEngineer – Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Mix Engineer Assistant] – Jeff Jackson (7), Robin FlorentEngineer [Mix Engineer] – Chris GallandFeaturing – Kendrick LamarMixed By – Manny MarroquinProducer – Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Bobby Raps, Doc McKinneyVocals [Additional] – Daniel WilsonWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ali Shaheed Jones-Muhammad*, Daniel Wilson, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth*, Martin McKinney, Robert John Richardson3:51B5Six Feet UnderEngineer – Ben Billions*, Doc McKinney, Josh Smith (18)Engineer [Mix Engineer Assistant] – Jeff Jackson (7), Robin FlorentEngineer [Mix Engineer] – Chris GallandMixed By – Manny MarroquinProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ben Billions*, Cirkut*, Doc McKinney, Metro BoominVocals [Additional] – Future (4)Written-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Benjamin Diehl*, Henry Russell Walter*, Jason Quenneville, Leland Wayne, Martin McKinney, Nayvadius Wilburn3:57C1Love To LayEngineer – Sam HollandEngineer [Assistant] – Cory Bice, Jeremy LertolaEngineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesGuitar – Max Martin, Peter SvenssonHandclaps [Claps] – Jeremy LertolaMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ali Payami, Max MartinWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Ali Payami, Max Martin, Peter Svensson, Savan Kotecha3:43C2A Lonely NightEngineer – Noah "Mailbox" Passovoy*, Sam HollandEngineer [Assistant] – Cory Bice, Jeremy LertolaEngineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesGuitar – Ryland BlackintonMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Ali Payami, Max MartinWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Ali Payami, Jason Quenneville, Max Martin, Peter Svensson, Savan Kotecha3:40C3AttentionEngineer – David SchwerkoltEngineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Benny Blanco (3), Cashmere CatProducer, Synthesizer – Frank DukesWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Adam Feeney, Benjamin Levin, Magnus August Hoiberg*, Mustafa Ahmed, William Thomas Walsh3:17C4Ordinary LifeEngineer [Assistant] – Cory Bice, Jeremy LertolaEngineer [Engineered For Mix] – John HanesMixed By – Serban GheneaProducer, Engineer – Cirkut*, Doc McKinneyWritten-By – Abel "The Weeknd" Tesfaye*, Ahmad Balshe, Ali Payami, Henry Russell Walter*, Martin McKinney, Max Martin, Peter Svensson, Savan Kotecha3:41D1Nothing Without YouEngineer – Benjamin Diehl*, Josh Smith (18), Raphael MesquitaEngineer [Mix Engineer Assistant] – Jeff Jackson (7)

What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times? Spring. The great connective. With an eye to the migrancy of story over time, and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare's most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tells the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown Smith opens the door. The time we're living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story? Hope springs eternal.

This is a richly inventive new collection of stories from Ali Smith, author of How to be both, winner of the Baileys Womens Prize and the Costa Novel Award and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Why are books so very powerful? What do the books weve read over our lives - our own personal libraries - make of us? What does the unravelling of our tradition of public libraries, so hard-won but now in jeopardy, say about us? The stories in Ali Smiths new collection are about what we do with books and what they do with us: how they travel with us; how they shock us, change us, challenge us, banish time while making us older, wiser and ageless all at once; how they remind us to pay attention to the world we make. Public libraries are places of joy, freedom, community and discovery - and right now they are under threat from funding cuts and widespread closures across the UK and further afield. With this brilliantly inventive collection, Ali Smith joins the campaign to save our public libraries and celebrate their true place in our culture and history.

This is a richly inventive new collection of stories from Ali Smith, author of How to be both, winner of the Baileys Womens Prize and the Costa Novel Award and shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. Why are books so very powerful? What do the books weve read over our lives - our own personal libraries - make of us? What does the unravelling of our tradition of public libraries, so hard-won but now in jeopardy, say about us? The stories in Ali Smiths new collection are about what we do with books and what they do with us: how they travel with us; how they shock us, change us, challenge us, banish time while making us older, wiser and ageless all at once; how they remind us to pay attention to the world we make. Public libraries are places of joy, freedom, community and discovery - and right now they are under threat from funding cuts and widespread closures across the UK and further afield. With this brilliantly inventive collection, Ali Smith joins the campaign to save our public libraries and celebrate their true place in our culture and history.

This title is presented with an introduction by Ali Smith. A richly comic tale of the tangled fortunes of two theatrical families, the Hazards and the Chances, Angela Carter's witty and bawdy novel is populated with as many sets of twins, and mistaken identities as any Shakespeare comedy, and celebrates the magic of over a century of show business.

This title is presented with an introduction by Ali Smith. A richly comic tale of the tangled fortunes of two theatrical families, the Hazards and the Chances, Angela Carter's witty and bawdy novel is populated with as many sets of twins, and mistaken identities as any Shakespeare comedy, and celebrates the magic of over a century of show business.

Penelope. Immortalised in legend and myth as the devoted wife of the glorious Odysseus, silently weaving and unpicking and weaving again as she waits for her husband’s return. Now Penelope wanders the underworld, spinning a different kind of thread: her own side of the story - a tale of lust, greed and murder. The Myths series brings together some of the world’s finest writers, each of whom has retold a myth in a contemporary and memorable way. Authors in the series include Karen Armstrong, Margaret Atwood, A.S. Byatt, David Grossman, Natsuo Kirino, Alexander McCall Smith, Philip Pullman, Ali Smith and Jeanette Winterson.

What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times? Spring. The great connective. With an eye to the migrancy of story over time, and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare’s most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tells the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown Smith opens the door. The time we’re living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story? Hope springs eternal.

What unites Katherine Mansfield, Charlie Chaplin, Shakespeare, Rilke, Beethoven, Brexit, the present, the past, the north, the south, the east, the west, a man mourning lost times, a woman trapped in modern times? Spring. The great connective. With an eye to the migrancy of story over time, and riffing on Pericles, one of Shakespeare’s most resistant and rollicking works, Ali Smith tells the impossible tale of an impossible time. In a time of walls and lockdown Smith opens the door. The time we’re living in is changing nature. Will it change the nature of story? Hope springs eternal.

Tove Jansson’s first book for adults drew on her childhood memories to capture afresh the enchantments and fears of growing up in Helsinki in the 1910s and 20s. Described as both a memoir and ‘a book of superb stories’ by Ali Smith, Jansson’s startlingly evocative prose offers a glimpse of the mysteries of winter ice, the bonhomie of balalaika parties, and the vastness of Christmas viewed from beneath the tree.

'There once was a man who, one night between the main course and the sweet at a dinner party, went upstairs and locked himself in one of the bedrooms of the house of the people who were giving the dinner party . . .' As time passes by and the consequences of this stranger's actions ripple outwards, touching the owners, the guests, the neighbours and the whole country, so Ali Smith draws us into a beautiful, strange place where everyone is so much more than they first appear...