When Stephen Kelman started shopping Pigeon English, his first novel, around to literary agents, no one warned him not quit his day job—he didn’t have one to quit. And no matter, because what happened next was the stuff of literary dreams: a bidding war between 12 of Britain’s top publishers. When the dust settled, 33-year-old Kelman, whose bio cites stints as a warehouse operative and local government administrator, emerged with a six-figure advance, international rights, a two-book deal and the unenviable pressure of being The Next Big Thing. Read more…