Nicholas Bowling

Nick Bowling is an author, musician, stand-up comic and Latin teacher from Oxford.

His critically-acclaimed debut WITCHBORN was published in 2017 by Chicken House, and was followed in 2019 by IN THE SHADOW OF HEROES, which was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Award. His next children's novel, SONG OF THE FAR ISLES, was published in July 2021.

In July 2020 his speculative fiction novel ALPHA OMEGA was published by Titan. His next novel for adults, the surreal supernatural thriller THE FOLLOWER was released in July 2021.  

"By the final chapter each thread has been skillfully unravelled... Nicholas Bowling is a thrilling writer who keeps the reader permanently on edge." Telegraph

Recent publications: 

THE FOLLOWER (July 2021, Titan)

When her twin brother goes missing in Northern California, Vivian Owens follows his trail to the town of Mount Hookey, home to the followers of Telos: a mountain-worshipping cult that offers spiritual fulfilment to those who seek it.

While trying to navigate the town’s bizarre inhabitants and the seductive preaching of the initiates of Telos, Vivian will have to confront questions about herself, her family, and everything she thinks she knows about the world. She quickly realises that her search is about far more than her missing brother – it is a quest for the secret of happiness itself.

To that end, there is only one question she needs to answer: what is really at the top of Mount Hookey?

“Gripping, compelling and otherworldly” David Quantick

SONG OF THE FAR ISLES (July 2021, Titan)

Oran lives on Little Drum, where music is everything. Every islander has a birth instrument and a life song - and the ancestors, called ghasts, linger to hear the music. But when the Duchess arrives from the mainland bringing orders of silence, she threatens the ghasts' existence, the very soul of the community. When Oran hears of a mythical instrument with the power to manipulate hearts, she brings her ghast best friend, Alick, on a quest to find it, play it, and change the Duchess's mind...

"Cast its spell over me from the first page ... it really is my perfect book." Jasbinder Bilan, Costa Winning author of Asha & the Spirit Bird

ALPHA OMEGA (July 2020, Titan)

Something is rotten in the state of the NutriStart Skills Academy

With the discovery of a human skull on the playing fields, children displaying symptoms of an unfamiliar, grisly virus and a catastrophic malfunction in the site's security system, the NSA is about to experience a week that no amount of rebranding can conceal. As the school descends into chaos, teacher Tom Rosen goes looking for answers but when the real, the unreal and the surreal are indistinguishable, the truth can be difficult to recognise.

One pupil, Gabriel Backer, may hold the key to saving the school from destroying itself and its students, except he has already been expelled. Not only that - he has disappeared down the rabbit-hole of "Alpha Omega" the world's largest VR role-playing game, filled with violent delights and unbridled debauchery. But the game quickly sours. Gabriel will need to confront the real world he's been so desperate to escape if he ever wants to leave...

IN THE SHADOW OF HEROES (May 2019, Chicken House)

Shortlisted for the 2019 Costa Children's Award

Fourteen-year-old Cadmus has been scholar Tullus’s slave since he was a baby – his master is the only family he knows.

But when Tullus disappears and a taciturn slave called Tog – daughter of a British chieftain – arrives with a secret message, Cadmus’s life is turned upside down. The pair follow a trail that leads to Emperor Nero himself, and his crazed determination to possess the Golden Fleece of Greek mythology. This quest will push Cadmus to the edge of the Roman Empire – and reveal unexpected truths about his past …

WITCHBORN (Noveber 2017, Chicken House)

It’s 1577. When her mother is burned at the stake for witchcraft, Alyce flees to London. But it isn’t just witchfinders she has to worry about. Powerful political forces are also on her trail, dragging her into the feud between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots. As Alyce struggles to understand her own powers, she is drawn into a web of secrets, lies and dark magic that will change the fate of England.

A fast-paced adventure set in a world of magic and witchcraft where the lines between good and evil are frequently blurred. 

"A wonderfully twisty and atmospheric fantasy... one not to miss." Bookseller

"This author is one to watch." Historical Novel Association