**Third Place – Alcuin Society Award for Excellence in Book Design – Prose Fiction**

"I'm in two places: here, but there still" – so begins this captivating literary thriller.

When his father – a distinguished writer – unexpectedly passes away, Derrick van der Lem's insulated world implodes, leaving it a much stranger and crueller place than the one he knew. In the midst of his downward spiral, the mysterious Society of Experience asks him to take part in a baffling science experiment involving time travel that promises to change his life and pull him out of his rut.

When the experiment begins to untangle, Derrick finds himself out of his depth and in the middle of a nightmare, with only the company of a mysterious woman to steer him from chaos to heartbreak. Meanwhile, who are the Society, and what are their true intentions for Derrick? Is time travel real, or is it yet another contrivance the Society has invented? Part Philip K. Dick, part postmodern mystery, The Society of Experience is an inventive, fast-paced story of a man's journey through streets, alleyways and deserted buildings in search of a better tomorrow.