Floaters: the coming-of-age novel inspired by the UK’s sewage crisis
#Floaters #C M Taylor #Craig Taylor #Surfers Against Sewage #River Thames #Sewage crisis #UK water companies #Water‑reform bill #young adult #caper #revenge #environmental activism #public awareness
📌 Key Takeaways
- Novel *Floaters* is a YA coming‑of‑age revenge caper.
- Limited first edition of 215 copies; 50 % of profits go to Surfers Against Sewage.
- Author Craig Taylor draws on personal experience canoeing on the Thames near his Oxfordshire home.
- The story reflects the ongoing sewage dumping scandal by UK water companies.
- The UK water‑reform bill will be introduced in Parliament in July, amid other consultations.
- Media coverage includes the Channel 4 documentary *Joe Lycett vs Sewage* and the upcoming drama *Dirty Business*.
- The campaign sees potential for a breakthrough similar to the 2024 Post Office scandal coverage.
- The edition size of 215 links symbolically to the river’s length in miles.
- The book is described as a “capers‑style” narrative with fresh heist elements.
- Surfers Against Sewage seeks to boost clean water awareness and policy reform.
📖 Full Retelling
Who: C M Taylor (real name Craig Taylor) and the teenage protagonists in his book; What: a coming‑of‑age revenge caper novel titled *Floaters*; Where: the River Thames near the author’s home in Oxfordshire; When: the limited first edition of 215 copies will be launched later this month, with the UK water‑reform bill scheduled for introduction in July; Why: to channel 50 % of the book’s profits to the charity Surfers Against Sewage and to raise public awareness of the sewage‑dumping crisis on the Thames.
🏷️ Themes
Coming‑of‑age, Environmental activism, Youth resistance, Justice and revenge, Caper/heist narrative, Public policy and regulation, Media influence on public debate, Symbolism of numbers
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Original Source
Floaters: the coming-of-age novel inspired by the UK’s sewage crisis C M Taylor’s book, which will raise funds for charity, follows teenagers whose favourite swim spot is contaminated A water company discharges sewage into a river with impunity and the government fails to stop them. The story may sound familiar, but this one is different: there’s a satisfying comeuppance all round. The ongoing saga of sewage being pumped into the Thames has inspired a new YA (young adult) novel, Floaters – and when its limited first edition is published later this month, 50% of all profits will go to the conservation and campaign charity Surfers Against Sewage . Described as a “coming-of-age revenge caper”, Floaters follows a group of teenagers who find their favourite swimming spot has been compromised by oozing sewage, and is based on the author’s own experiences. Craig Taylor, writing as C M Taylor, and his two daughters regularly canoe along the Thames. They used to swim, too, in the stretch near their Oxfordshire home, but they stopped when they discovered how frequently sewage was being dumped into the water. “There’s a very active environmental network doing citizen science in our area and that’s really helped educate us about the declining water quality,” said Taylor. The book’s initial run of 215 copies will raise funds for SAS in a year the campaign group calls a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to positively influence the UK’s water quality. “It just seemed a cute conceit to restrict the number of copies to 215, one for each mile of the river,” said Taylor. “Although there are ongoing fights about where the source of the Thames is, so I’m sure some purists will argue that it’s actually 218 miles long.” In July the water reform bill will be introduced in parliament, and other government consultations on bathing water regulations, environmental offence sanctions and river basin management plans are taking place. Taylor’s book reflects on how the polluting actions of UK wa...
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