David Worsley from Wordsworth Books in Waterloo chose Willem de Kooning’s Paintbrush as a favourite title for 2016:

‘Whether set in the solitary existence within a tough high school, a strip club, or chronicling teens cast into the drudgery of the working world, Powell has an ear for dialogue and a command of place across the board. Reviews have quite rightly likened Powell to Alice Munro and it’s wonderful to see a first collection (after an award-winning volume of poetry) promise so much.”