Claire North: An Author On the Rise

Anne Clarke

One of the most rewarding things about being an editor is watching an author develop their unique writing style, and become better and better with each new book.

Catherine Webb is an author who has been doing just that for over a decade—ever since she wrote her first book when she was just fourteen years old. Several books and a couple of pseudonyms later, she’s blossomed into an outstanding author of unusual thrillers with her most recent books, starting with The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which was her first novel to be published under the Claire North pen name. Each new manuscript is more accomplished than the last, and seeing her take such leaps forward in ambition and confidence as a writer is pure joy.

Claire North’s new novel, The Sudden Appearance of Hope, is out this month and is another gem. What I love about her work is that she takes the idea of a singular character like a man who repeats his life continuously (Harry August), or a woman the world forgets (Hope) and wraps around them a rich and compelling narrative that ends up being bigger than the original concept. I’m not at all surprised that she’s been picked up by many reviewers in the last couple of years as an author on the rise.

The Sudden Appearance of Hope is the kind of novel that reminds me why I got into publishing. It makes me proud to be part of the team that is bringing this sort of writing to the attention of the world. It was the excitement of discovering a brilliant new author, and the delight in spreading the word about them, that made me want to be an editor in the first place.

The icing on the cake? I’ve just finished reading the manuscript for next year’s Claire North thriller—and, impossibly, it’s even better.