“[An] insightful, unsettling look at how technology impacts our lives. . .Kavenna has skillfully made our present feel like dystopian fiction.” USA TODAY Named a Best Book of 2020 by USA TODAY From the winner of the Orange Award for New Writing comes a blistering, satirical novel about life under a global media and tech corporation that knows exactly what we think, what we want, and what we do—before we do. One corporation has made a perfect world based on a perfect algorithm . . . now what to do with all these messy people? Lionel Bigman is dead. Murdered by a robot. Guy Matthias, the philandering founder and CEO of the mega-corporation Beetle, insists it was human error. But was it? Either the predictive algorithms of Beetle's supposedly omniscient 'lifechain' don't work, or, they've been hacked. Both scenarios are impossible to imagine and signal the end of Beetle's technotopia and life as we know it. Dazzlingly original and darkly comic, Zed asks profound questions about who we are, what we owe to one another, and what makes us human. It describes our moment—the ugliness and the beauty—perfectly. Kavenna is a prophet who has seen deeply into the present—and thrown back her head and laughed.

Zed is having a bad day. She's twelve and there's someone around who's killing kids, which she doesn't have time for. Today, she's already knifed a rapist, traded with half the drunks and addicts in town, talked to the dead, bargained with a sociopath, and extracted crucial information from a mental patient - and she hasn't even left the building. Welcome to what Whitbread Prize winner Lindsay Clarke has called ''a nightmare world which I am trying to escape, but cannot. ''Welcome to the Tower, an urban development project no city wants to lay claim to; a place to steer clear of if at all possible, but if you can't, you'll fit right in. Zed is a vivid, claustrophobic, at times nightmarish novel about madness, survival, and crumbling institutions; it is Moby Dick set in the squalor of an inner city, where rules are abandoned, and it's every man (and young girl) for him or herself. In the spirit of J.G. Ballard's High Rise or Iain Banks' The Wasp Factory, Zed depicts a frenzied underworld; it is a novel of verve and feverish, expansive imagination.

FINALIST FOR THE GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARD FINALIST FOR THE OLA SILVER BIRCH AWARD The literary scavenger hunt of a lifetime, starring an endlessly endearing non-binary tween Zed Watson loves a few things: their name (which they chose themself!), their big rambunctious family, and—oh yeah—monsters. When Zed discovered the mystery surrounding an unpublished novel called The Monster’s Castle, they were completely hooked. Now Zed is a member of a small but dedicated legion devoted to finding the long-buried text. When a breakthrough discovery leads Zed to the route that they are sure will take them to the treasure, they know it’s time for a road trip. And with the help of their shy, flora-loving neighbour, Gabe, and his sister, Sam, a geologist who is driving back to college in Arizona, Zed and company are soon off on a wild adventure following cryptic clues. But it’s not all fun and games. Gabe doesn’t like Zed’s snacks, Sam is a bossy driver with total command of the ancient Impreza’s stereo, and Zed is often misgendered. It’s a good thing they also encounter kind strangers, potato-themed dance-offs and lots and lots of ice cream along the way. If Zed and Gabe can combine their strengths, survive Sam’s wrath and best the greedy historian who’s also hot on the book’s trail, they just might find the greatest treasure of all. Co-authored by child-parent duo Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester, this is a vibrant and enormous-hearted story about friendship, identity and belonging. It features illustrations by celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Sylvester, and an Own Voices perspective based on Basil’s experience.

Join the secret world of Zed & Dez as they solve missions in the village of Champton using fantastic fantasy gadgets, all without the grown-ups knowing. Oh, and solve some tricky jokes along the way! Did you know children all over the world work for the 005 Secret Services Agency? Zed is just one of them! In the dark of night, 005 Agents fly over Zed's house and drop in top secret Agency work through a hatch in the roof, linked to a 005 Agency vending machine. The vending machine, hidden in the back of Zed's wardrobe, doesn't serve snacks. Oh no! It serves weekly secret missions. With the help of 9-year-old genius, Lorenzo, who creates amazing gadgets including a flying snowboard, video specs and decoder pens, Zed does his very best to solve each mission. But Zed can’t complete his missions alone. He needs the help of his best friend, 9-year-old Dez. Can they stop a kidnapping, save the Christmas Talent Show, get Mr Ladd to safety, stop bike thieves at school, find a drowning swimmer and build a youth centre? Hopefully Lorenzo’s wacky inventions including a video camera hat, voice recognition labels and a retrieving robot will help the pair in their quests. Zed & Dez is a fast-paced action book full of gadgets, humour and heroes that share a dose of friendly rivalry and jokes throughout. With an array of beautiful illustrations, Zed & Dez is ideal for young readers who enjoy being kept on their toes with non-stop action.

The dead have risen, and they are hungry. They are tough, they are lethal, and they are everywhere. Savage packs of the undead wander the world, feeding on the living. And they are getting stronger… In Brattleboro, Vermont, John Mason and his beautiful young wife Sara believe that family can survive anything. When the apocalypse arrives they pack food, clothing, and weapons, then hit the road with their dog seeking refuge in the mountains of John’s youth. There John and Sara, together with family, friends, and neighbors, build a stronghold against the encroaching mass of the dead. The mindless walking dead are only the beginning of their troubles in this new, violent world. Something darker still is moving, and John, Sara, and the other survivors must unite and fight together or be torn apart by this New Zed Order.

In 1930s Louisiana bayou country, two youngsters team up with Mamma Simone, an older, part Cajun woman who teaches them about her way of life. The three help solve several murders and find pirate's treasure while saving the life of the sheriff's wife.

When a cute little alien named ZED demonstrates his invention to the Hierarchy of the Galaxy, something goes wrong -- terribly wrong! Before long, ZED's universe is thrown into complete turmoil and our little hero must face nearly insurmountable odds trying to survive and save the very fate of his home world. Imbued with a dark edge, peppered with pure silliness, and wrapped up in a childlike sense of wonder, ZED's adventures will keep readers tickled and captivated from start to finish. Originally published in comic book form over a period of eleven years, ZED has been completely revised and remastered for this definitive edition.

“At last, I finally understand the alphabet! I also love this book: secret Beatles knowledge from one of the closest insiders.” —Steve Martin Peter Asher met the Beatles in the spring of 1963, the start of a lifelong association with the band and its members. He had a front-row seat as they elevated pop music into an art form, and he was present at the creation of some of the most iconic music of our times. Asher is also a talented musician in his own right, with a great ear for what was new and fresh. He was asked by Paul McCartney to help start Apple Records; the first artist Asher discovered and signed up was a young American singer-songwriter named James Taylor. Before long he would be not only managing and producing Taylor but also working with Linda Ronstadt, Neil Diamond, Robin Williams, Joni Mitchell, and Cher, among others. The Beatles from A to Zed grows out of his popular radio program “From Me to You” on SiriusXM’s The Beatles Channel, where he shares memories and insights about the Fab Four and their music. Here he weaves his reflections into a whimsical alphabetical journey that focuses not only on songs whose titles start with each letter, but also on recurrent themes in the Beatles’ music, the instruments they played, the innovations they pioneered, the artists who influenced them, the key people in their lives, and the cultural events of the time. Few can match Peter Asher for his fresh and personal perspective on the Beatles. And no one is a more congenial and entertaining guide to their music.