The first of two novels, Gliff, which is a Scottish/northern word for a shock, a fright, a transient moment, a glance or sudden glimpse, will be followed by a second novel in 2025, called Glyph (a signifying mark – as in ‘hieroglyph’). Glyph, the second novel, will tell a story which is hidden in the first so the two books will belong together but can be read independently.

The two books will form a new step in Ali’s writing journey, different in form and feeling from the Seasonal Qua...