21 Miles revisits the much-loved protagonist of 29 Locks two years after his canal boat adventure as a fifteen-year-old.
Older, wiser and more confident, life is going well for the former gang member who'd escaped a brutal life of criminal exploitation. But when Donny and his best friend Zoe plan a day trip to France ahead of their sixth form exams, Donny loses his passport and is arrested as an 'illegal' migrant.
To survive, he must rely on the help of unaccompanied teenage refugees, living rough in the dunes east of Calais.
Nicola Garrard grew up in South Devon, where her family made ends meet by growing and fishing for their own food. Her critically-acclaimed debut, 29 Locks, was inspired by the pupils she met during her many years as a teacher. Its sequel, 21 Miles, was described by author Anthony McGowan as ‘One of the very best pieces of fiction to come out of the refugee crisis.’ 29 Locks was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and the Mslexia Children’s Novel competition and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2022. Garrard’s poetry has been published by the Frogmore Papers magazine, IRON Press Publishing, Mslexia magazine and the Poetry Book Society. She lives in West Sussex with her wife and three children and continues to teach and work for the charity Minority Matters.
