Lucy has written five novels and five non-fiction books. She teaches Creative Writing at the University of Oxford.
Her most recent novel WINDMILL HILL (2023) was a summer book pick for both the Guardian and the Observer. Her bestselling MAGPIE LANE (2020) was a Book of the Year for the Guardian, Telegraph, Good Housekeeping, and BBC Radio 4 Open Book. Two of her novels have been optioned for TV and many of her works have been published internationally.
She has judged literary competitions including the Costa Book Awards and has written reviews and features for UK newspapers such as the Guardian, Times, Sunday Times, Telegraph, TLS and many magazines.
Lucy was born in Edinburgh, and brought up in Sussex. Before becoming an author, she worked for Amnesty International (UK), and then the Times Literary Supplement. She studied English at Oxford University and was a post-graduate Fulbright Scholar to the USA. She has lived in Boston, Seattle and Philadelphia, and is now based in Oxford. She has three grown-up children and a demanding dog.
On Instagram, she offers ‘Talking About Writing’ Live sessions which focus on how authors write. Previous guests include Claire Fuller, Sarah Perry, Kate Mosse, Rachel Joyce, Anna Funder and Joanna Cannon. All sessions are recorded and available for free. Watch the Talking About Writing sessions here
More writing tips on Instagram
Lucy atkins 