Ely Percy's acclaimed novel Duck Feet to get fresh print run

Duck Feet by Ely Percy was shortlisted for the Scots Leid Award following its publication in March 2021, before being named Scottish Book of the Year and Scottish Fiction Book of the Year at the Saltire Society’s annual Scottish book awards.

In winning the latter it beat off stiff competition from other books nominated in the same category including Booker Prize winner Douglas Stuart’s Shuggie Bain.

Unfortunately, however, despite Duck Feet’s acclaim, the novel became a victim of its own success as its small publishers struggled to keep up with demand and rising print costs.

The book was published during the pandemic (Image: Newsquest)

Ely, 45, told the Gazette: “The last three print runs, which got bigger each time, sold out almost as soon as they hit the shops.

“It went out of print for over a year and during this time both myself and my publishers were inundated with queries about when the book would become available again.

“At one point my publishers received over 700 emails.

“The hope is that if enough people pre-order then my publishers will be able to afford a significantly bigger print run that won’t sell out within a couple of weeks.

“I’d quite like people who are from Renfrew and the surrounding area to get the opportunity to buy it because it would be really sad if you’ve got this book about your hometown and you can't get a copy of it.”

Set in the mid-noughties in Renfrew and Paisley, Duck Feet follows the lives of 12-year-old Kirsty Campbell and her friends as they navigate life from first to sixth year at fictional Renfrew Grammar school.

This book is described as “a celebration of youth in an ever-changing world” and uses humour to tackle hard-hitting subjects such as drugs, bullying, sexuality, and teenage pregnancy.

Written in Scots vernacular, it was a labour of love for the former Kirklandneuk Primary, Renfrew High and Linwood High pupil who created it by novelising a series of short stories.

“I got about 10/15 stories along and I was still writing about this Kirsty and I was like maybe this is a book, so I asked my sister ‘what do you think?’, explained the author, who had to learn to read and write again after suffering a brain injury at the age of 14.

“I went to the pub one night and her and her pals had read the stories I’d sent her and she’d put it around all the Renfrew High folk she used to know and all the folk who used to go to youth theatre.

“They were like oh I like that character and that one and loads of people wanted to say what they thought so I decided to interview folk about what their high school experience was like.

“I started to see patterns and that the stories that people were telling me were the same and I was like there is something here."

Duck Feet followed the publication of Ely's first novel Vicky Romeo Plus Joolz in 2019 (Image: Newsquest)

“(Since the book has been published) everybody has said to me that (the characters) feel like they are somebody they know and that's because it's a universal experience," they added.

Despite this relatability, it took Ely 16 years to find a publisher as they were continually told that there would not be an audience for it.

“I got about 35 stories published in magazines and stuff like that but when I sent them out to publishers, they would come back and tell me that nobody would want to read it, even Scottish publishers,” they explained.

“They’d say nobody wants to read about a wee girl from a Scottish housing scheme. Nobody wants to read a book about Kirsty Campbell. It’s too niche and I was just like I don't think that's true.”

Indeed Ely knew from the reaction in pubs and other places where they would read their work that there was an audience for it.

“I was going to this particular tea house every month and I’d read Duck Feet stories,” they added.

“One month I didn’t read one, I read something else, and folk were complaining. They were saying where’s Kirsty Campbell?

“I did think people in Renfrew deserved to have a book about them and I thought, why would you not what to read about Renfrew? Why would you not want to read about Kirsty Campbell?

“There isn't a huge amount of books about working class joy. There's even less books that are Scottish about working class joy, so I think it’s the sort of book I'd like to read.

“So many people were telling me that they liked the story that I just thought I didn't agree with the publishers and somebody, somewhere out there is going to like this book and I'm going keep on putting it out there.

“Going from there to finding a publisher and winning the biggest literary prize you can get in Scotland was great.”

To pre-order Duck Feet click HERE.