''Yardie'' was the

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

writer Victor Headley, being described as "the publishing story of 1992" when it became the first title produced by

Dotun Adebayo Oludotun Davey Moore "Dotun" Adebayo (born 25 August 1959) is a British radio presenter, writer, and publisher. He is best known for his work on '' Up All Night'' on BBC Radio 5 Live, as well as the obituary programme ''Brief Lives''. Early ...

's newly established X Press.Dotun Adebayo
"Make Banks Pay For Discriminating"
''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', 3 December 2011.

Background

The novel achieved impressive sales, initially through outlets other than traditional bookshops; according to

Goodreads Goodreads is an American social cataloging website and a subsidiary of Amazon that allows individuals to search its database of books, annotations, quotes, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and read ...

: "Yardie is, quite simply, a literary sensation in England. Originally published by X Press, a two-man operation, the book was produced on a desktop computer and distributed through unusual channels: it was sold at clothing shops, hairdressers, and even on top of over-turned dumpsters outside of nightclubs. On word of mouth alone, Yardie has sold over twelve thousand copies." It went on to sell some 30,000 copies. Interviewed by Vastiana Belfon for the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British Political magazine, political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney Webb, Sidney and Beatrice ...

'', X Press co-founder Steve Pope said: "It was the first populist black title aimed at a black audience, and its sales success prompted

W H Smith WHSmith (also written WH Smith, and known colloquially as Smith's and formerly as W. H. Smith & Son) is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, England, which operates a chain of high street, railway station, airport, port, hospital and ...

to set up black writing sections in its stores. Other booksellers soon followed." Set largely in 1980s Hackney, the novel borrows its title from

yardie Yardie (or Yaadi) is a term often used, particularly within the Caribbean expatriate and Jamaican diaspora, to refer to people of Jamaican origin, though its exact meaning changes depending on context. The term is derived from the Jamaican pa ...

, a term stemming from the slang name originally given to occupants of "government yards" — social housing projects with very basic amenities, and is based on the fictional story a young Jamaican's rise from the streets of London to the top of the drug-dealing underworld. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' (reviewing the

Atlantic Monthly Press Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "A ...

edition) called ''Yardie'' a "well-crafted crime story", saying: "A planned sequel may perhaps provide insight into the gangster at the center of the intriguing world Headley has created."

Film adaptation

In 2016 it was revealed that

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

was to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of ''Yardie''. Elba confirmed: "It's actually a smaller capsule story within the story of ''Yardie''. It's about a boy who comes from Jamaica and finds himself in London, being a naughty boy. You're going to see a muscular, dynamic and heartfelt film that means something to people. I want people to come out of the film and say 'Hmm, I feel like going to Jamaica now!' That's the idea." The film stars

Aml Ameen Aml Eysan Ameen (; born 30 July 1985) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as Trevor (Trife) in ''Kidulthood'' (2006), Lewis Hardy in the ITV television series ''The Bill'', Capheus in the first season of the Netflix original se ...

, with Stephen Graham in a supporting role,Orlando Parfitt
"First image for Idris Elba directorial debut 'Yardie' released"
''Screen Daily'', 16 May 2017. and was released in 2018.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

at Fantastic Fiction 1992 British novels Novels set in Jamaica British novels adapted into films 1992 debut novels