These books are grouped by inspiration, but really it would be better to categorise them further. Some I went to during the writing of I Will Crash for guidance, others for reassurance, another I discovered by chance during the process. Two were instructional – one of my characters is an academic specialising in Gertrude Stein – and two have long reinforced the significance of rhythm, propulsion and how prose can become incantatory. The Sarah Kane collection proves that emotion can cut like a sharpened knife. A few do much of this and more: not just inspiring or informing but existing as talismans that will endure a lifetime, reminding me of the overpowering charge a reading experience can bring. 

'A one-of-a-kind storyteller.' Observer
'Completely immersive.' Natasha Brown
'Essential and startling.' Colin Barrett
'Moving, funny, and beautifully written.' Michael Magee
'An ambitious tale of sibling feuding and grief.' Sunday Times
'Compelling and poignant.' Glamour
'Tightly-controlled, invigorating.' Dazed

I Will Crash by Rebecca Watson is out in paperback from 24 April.