My debut novel UNDERDOGS is due to be published by the JM Originals imprint of John Murray Press on 2nd July 2026. Set in the world of independent greyhound racing, or ‘flapping’, it’s inspired by my childhood involvement in the sport’s lively, working-class community. ‘Telt’ in the County Durham dialect of my flapping community, it’s a tale of family, community, and what it means to be a child in a very adult world.
UNDERDOGS
‘These hands,’ he said, and spread the paira them out wide so we could see the callouses and the little lines of coal dust underneath his skin, ‘these hands were made to pick out summat precious from somewhere that doesn’t wanna give it up.’
County Durham, 1998. The pits have closed and jobs are hard to come by, but charismatic ex-miner Bertie has a plan. He runs an underground gambling business at the local dog track which offers down-on-their-luck local blokes the opportunity to turn their life around.
And if anyone needs this chance, it’s Reg. Reg’s ten-year-old son George knows his Dad hasn’t been the same since Mam died, and the letters with scary red type that keep coming through the door can’t be good news. So when Bertie offers Reg and George the chance to race Goldie, a beautiful fawn greyhound, they jump at the opportunity.
To succeed they’ll need to learn how to navigate the larger-than-life world of the flapping track. It’s a world full of grown-ups and secrets, and a bookmaker intent on getting revenge on Bertie for the events of fifteen months ago. Do Reg and George have what it takes to pull off the gamble of a lifetime?
The opening chapters of the book won the Sid Chaplin Northern Writers’ Award 2023, and it has been developed with the support of both a Developing Your Creative Practice Grant and an Arts Council National Lottery Project Grant.
UNDERDOGS is available to pre-order in High Street bookshops now:
https://www.waterstones.com/book/underdogs/louise-powell/9781399828819
https://www.foyles.co.uk/book/underdogs/louise-powell/9781399828819
It will also soon be available with independent bookshops, and I’ll update the page when links are available.
I’ve poured my heart and soul into telling a story that’s worthy of the community I grew up in, and I hope that you enjoy finding out more about UNDERDOGS!
DR LOUISE POWELL 