Shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize 2018
Shortlisted for the Wales Book of the Year 2018
Download Chapter One HERE!
'Sharp as a syringe and gloriously weird, Bad Ideas\Chemicals is both a death stare at society and a love song to the dreamers and misfits, and it deserves a meteoric rise.' - Samantha Shannon
In the Reviews: 'At its heart, the story of the Orphan Three is a passionate defence of friendship, and a celebration of the weirdness of life, no matter where you’re born or in what circumstances you find yourself.' – Eluned Gramich, New Welsh Review
‘Markam has a unique voice. His language is constantly dark and clear, no simile or adjective is wasted or out of place. His turn of phrase and observations can be beautifully sad.[…] It might be hard for Cassandra and her friends to be sober in Goregree. Post-Brexit and post-industrial Wales is a hard place to live for many but in Markham those who feel that they are voiceless or trapped have found a distinct champion in Markham encouraging the Cassandra’s of the world to dream and seek their own Alpha Centauri.’ – Wales Arts Review
‘Markam has a unique voice. His language is constantly dark and clear, no simile or adjective is wasted or out of place. His turn of phrase and observations can be beautifully sad.[…] It might be hard for Cassandra and her friends to be sober in Goregree. Post-Brexit and post-industrial Wales is a hard place to live for many but in Markham those who feel that they are voiceless or trapped have found a distinct champion in Markham encouraging the Cassandra’s of the world to dream and seek their own Alpha Centauri.’ – Wales Arts Review
‘disturbingly real and terribly sad’ – monsteringmag.com
‘the story pulls you into its wicked and weird tales. The style is similar to The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka; where the everyday meets the strange creating a sense of unfamiliar, familiarity.’ – Buzz Magazine
‘A dark and witty take on small town life.’ – David Towsey
‘bleak, weird, grim, cool... it will probably become a cult classic.’ – Rhian Elizabeth
'Some writers try to do weird. Some writers do weird. Lloyd Markham is weird.' – Christopher Meredith
‘Poignant, unnervingly funny and poetic,' – Philip Gross
‘a unique new voice.’ – Rhys Thomas
Lloyd Markham was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, moving to and settling in Bridgend, south Wales when he was thirteen. He spent the rest of his teenage years miserable and strange and having bad nights out before undertaking a BA in Writing at Glamorgan followed by an MPhil. He enjoys noise music, Japanese animation and the documentaries of Adam Curtis. His favourite book is The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. He operates synthesisers in a band called Deep Hum and has less bad nights out these days.