Lucy atkins

Lucy’s five novels include WINDMILL HILL, a summer book pick for both the Guardian and the Observer described by Philip Pullman as ‘a triumph’, and the bestselling MAGPIE LANE – Book of the Year for the Guardian, the Telegraph, Good Housekeeping, and BBC Radio 4’s Open Book. MAGPIE LANE has been optioned for TV, as has her third novel, THE NIGHT VISITOR.

A journalist for over 25 years, Lucy’s features have appeared in UK newspapers including the Guardian, the Times, the Sunday Times, the Telegraph, and The Times Literary Supplement, as well as many magazines. She has judged many literary competitions including the Costa Book Awards.

Lucy was born in Edinburgh, the daughter of a vicar and a lexicographer. Before becoming an author she worked for Amnesty International (UK) and then for the Times Literary Supplement. She studied English at the University of Oxford and was a postgraduate Fulbright Scholar to the USA. She has lived in Boston, Seattle, and Philadelphia and is now based in Oxford where she is teaches creative writing on Oxford University’s Creative Writing masters degree.

Find Lucy’s writing tips on Instagram

You can also find Talking About Writing on Instagram: discussions with successful authors about how they write. Previous guests include Sarah Perry, Kate Mosse, Claire Fuller, Rachel Joyce, Anna Funder, Catherine Newman, Joanna Cannon and many others. All sessions are available to catch up for free.

Talking About Writing sessions are on Lucy’s instagram here