Principals

"Strange... but captivating", "Superb craft... genuine talent", "Absolute genius" (Goodreads reviews for Dienw Neb)

As the teenage Agati struggles to feed her adopted sister in a poverty-stricken dictatorship, a mysterious figure arrives to offer them a way out. Taken to a competitive pop-star academy they only know from whispered rumour, Agati and Jün-Fi find that the life of stardom is not what it seems.

And nor is the iron hand of the government.

In the struggle to become idols, Agati must adapt to survive in an environment more punishing than life on the streets. But other forces are abroad in the Democratic People's Republic of Ibban, forces which threaten to throw the entire country into anarchy. The two girls have a lot to learn, and some hard choices to make. Choices which will change the course of history.

This is a story about resilience under oppression and what, based on real-life sources, can be done to fight back.

This, the second and "low-carb" edition of Principals - A post-K-Pop novel is set to be published in the month of August 2025 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, August 1st 1975, a novel to which it owes a great deal.
The plot still intact, the manuscript has been greatly tidied up, reformatted, given minor edits and a new cover. Many thanks to all those who contributed in spotting errors in the original edition.