Headshot is the story of the eight best teenage girl boxers in the United States, told over the two days of a championship tournament and structured as a series of face-offs. As the girls’ pasts and futures collide, the specific joy and violence of the sport comes to life with electric energy, and a portrait emerges of the desire, envy, perfectionism, madness and sheer physical pleasure that motivates each of these young women to fight.

What does the intimacy of a physical competition feel like? What does it mean to walk through life in the bodies we’ve been given, and what does it mean to use those bodies with abandon?

Funny, propulsive, obsessive and ecstatic, Headshot is equal parts subtle and intense, as it brings us to the sidelines of the ring and above and beyond it, examining closely the eight girls’ lives, which intersect for a moment – a universe that shimmers and resonates.

‘Explosive . . . Bullwinkel jumps between past, present and future to bring these powerful, brilliant, messy young women vividly to life.’ Guardian

‘An absolute knock-out . . . its visceral, skilful prose grips from first to last . . . Excellent.’ Declan Ryan, Daily Telegraph

‘An ambitious, exciting debut. You emerge from it sweaty, pummelled and ready for your next fight.’ Laura Hackett, The Times

‘A knock-out . . . Headshot feels like the complete deal in a way we rarely see in debut fiction: efficient, forceful, just messy enough to be interesting and leaving space in the ring for the reader.’ John Self, Observer