Alex Howard for The Ship's Cat

First there was The Ghost Cat, then there was The Library Cat, and now Alex Howard joins us to celebrate the wonderfully heart-warming The Ship's Cat. Loosely based on Homer's The Odyssey, this story follows a London stray cat who accidentally ends up sailing the world - a heroic yet feel-good tale of unlikely friendship on the high seas.

When street-savvy London stray Archie accidentally stows away on a flight to Turkey, he's just looking for shelter. But after stumbling onto a fishing boat in a quiet cove, Archie discovers he's no ordinary feline - for with his polydactyl paws, he brings uncanny good fortune to vessels at sea.

From the sun-drenched harbours of the Mediterranean to the bustling decks of ocean racers, Archie becomes a legend among sailors. Yet beneath the viral fame and whispered tales of 'the magical ship's cat', Archie yearns for something deeper: a forever-human who will love him not as a talisman, but as a companion.

It may be luck that drives Archie on this great Odyssey around the world, but love will be what calls him home - not to some place, perhaps, but to someone.

Heartwarming, adventurous and quietly profound, The Ship's Cat is a tale of resilience, belonging, unexpected friendship and the mysterious ways love finds us.

Alex Howard is an author, editor and theatre professional from Edinburgh. A doctoral graduate of English literature, Alex wrote his first book Library Cat (Black & White Publishing) while completing his PhD. It won the People's Book Prize in 2017, and has been translated into French, Korean and Italian. He also writes poetry, which has been published in New Writing Scotland, Gutter and The London Magazine, among others, and his academic book Larkin's Travelling Spirit was published in 2021 by Palgrave McMillan. Alex works at Capital Theatres as a creative engagement coordinator and editor while renovating his Edinburgh tenement flat at weekends, with his cat Tabitha, son Sasha and wife, Ellie.