What if going back means you could begin again?

Rocked by a terrible accident, homeless Kelly needs to escape the city streets of Glasgow. Maybe she doesn't believe in serendipity, but a rare moment of kindness and a lost ring conspire to call her home. As Kelly vows to reunite the lost ring with its owner, she must return to the small town she fled so many years ago.

On her journey from Glasgow to the south-west tip of Scotland, Kelly encounters ancient pilgrim routes, hostile humans, hippies, book lovers and a friendly dog, as memories stir and the people she thought she'd left behind forever move closer with every step.

Full of compassion and hope, Paper Cup is a novel about how easy it can be to fall through the cracks, and what it takes to turn around a life that has run off course.

About the Author

Karen Campbell is a Scottish novelist and former police officer. She is the author of seven novels, most recently The Sound of the Hours, which was a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month. She is a recipient of the Best New Scottish Writer Award and has led workshops for the Scottish Refugee Council, Amnesty, Moniack Mhor and Scottish PEN, among others. She has written for BBC Radio 3, Edinburgh International Book Festival and Glasgow Women's Library, and was recently Writer in Residence at Dumfries and Galloway Council. She lives in Galloway, Scotland.

@writerkcampbell | karencampbell.scot

Reviews
Paper Cup is very special indeed. Not only is it exquisitely written - and I mean catch-your-breath exquisite - the story is so real and told with such grace and compassion... Trust me (trust me), your world will be a better place for reading this story -- JOANNA CANNON
Glowing with empathy and wry intelligent wit. Let Kelly into your life. She'll change you, and you won't forget her -- KIRSTIN INNES
Big-hearted and poignant, Paper Cup is a joyous read -- SARA SHERIDAN
[A] poignant and harrowing read. Campbell gambles on our empathy when she shows Kelly at her worst, and she wins because she has written, without judgment or criticism, an original and memorable protagonist; one who moves through a landscape described with love and care, and whose interior voice will continue to ring in the reader's head even after the long journey's end is reached -- CLAIRE FULLER * * Guardian * *
A rough romance written in rich language and a truly original, brilliant novel * * Daily Mail * *
[A]mbitious . . . picturesque . . . generous and often wryly comic novel: a nice variety of incident and characters, fine descriptions of street life in Glasgow and of Kelly's journey - a quest that is both physical and spiritual, offering the prospect of recovery and redemption . . . readers are surely likely to find pleasure and satisfaction in the humanity of Campbell's treatment of people who have led difficult lives -- Allan Massie * * Scotsman * *
[A]n exquisitely written and compassionate novel of addiction, shame, hope and kindness * * Essential Magazine * *
Wonderful, empathetic, timely and moving . . . With every page I shivered with love and warmth and nostalgia * * Bella Caledonia * *
Full of compassion and hope * * Dumfries & Galloway Life * *
Terrific -- Morag Kuc * * Galloway Gazette * *



Book Information
ISBN 9781838855093
Author Karen Campbell
Format Hardback
Page Count 336
Imprint Canongate Books
Publisher Canongate Books
Weight(grams) 448g
Dimensions(mm) 220mm * 144mm * 32mm