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Of all the superstitions held by the crew of Dunure fishing boat The Silver Darling, the most perilous of all is that under no circumstances should a white-handled knife ever be carried on board.

Scotland, 1969. Ignoring this generation-long tradition, Danny—the latest to help out the family business—steps onto the boat with a mop top, oil-skinned jacket and an ivory-handled knife. Determined to bring an ‘enlightened attitude’ aboard, Danny is biding his time until he moves on to college in Glasgow.

Intricately researched and packed with humor, pathos and astonishing ink-washed art, Will Morris leaves no stone unturned as he transports the reader into the gruelling world of a Dunure fishing crew. As much a coming of age drama as it is a faithful tribute to the island’s historic fishing industry, The Silver Darlings provides an exciting first look into a creator who may well be a master story-teller in the making.

”Will Morris sculpts a world of wild, glittering seas and inner turmoil from delicate watercolour, expressive lines and sparse, potent words. You can practically smell the sea salt on his drawings. Superstition, luck – it’s all in the mind, isn’t it? The Silver Darlings makes irrational beliefs as tangible as waves, as biting as storm spray in your face. A beautiful book.” – Nick Abadzis, Eisner-winning author of Laika and Hugo Tate

Blank Slate Books, paperback with flaps, 60 pages, published October 2012