David Massey Collection

David Massey is the award-winning, Stourbridge-based author of the young adult novels: Torn, Taken and Bone Surfers, and alumni of the University of Central England, now Birmingham City University. His first book was published in 2012 and won the Lancashire Book of the Year in 2013. Torn was long-listed for the Branford Boase award and the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize. His books have been translated and sold in numerous countries. His books explore themes such as war, morality, death, mystery and love.

Front cover of Torn, published in 2012.

Massey began his writing career in 1989 as a reviewer for Brum Beat and then for Focus newspapers in Birmingham. His first foray into writing came through the UK publishing company, The Chicken House run by Barry Cunningham. The Chicken House published Massey's first novel, TORN in August 2012 which was Lancashire Book of the Year winner the following year. In its first full year of circulation, TORN was long-listed for the Branford Boase Award and the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. David's first novel has also been voted one of the most important books of 2014 in the United States by twelve educators from the National Council for Social Studies and has been nominated for the Georgia Peach awards 2014/15. World Book Day March 2013 saw the release of Massey's second YA or young adult fiction novel, TAKEN in the UK. On World Book Day in 2018, Massey's third novel BONE SURFERS was released by Harvington Books. The collection contains copies of his books, Taken, Torn, and Bone Surfers in English and in translation. It also contains documents showing the planning and editing process of the book. Chicken House is renowned for the intensity of its editing process. The documents include a detailed sketchbook of planning notes and a USB containing drafting notes, editorial corrections and changes. Editorial exchanges cover structural, style and line edits and the subsequent edits to prepare the book for an American audience. They offer a fascinating glimpse into the process of writing a novel, refining it and publishing.