ABOUT

I'm a writer and activist, and my novels place ordinary people at the centre of the story. I was brought up in Birmingham within the Irish and Caribbean communities, and I'm a passionate advocate for diverse representation in literature and the arts.

Before becoming a full-time writer, I spent fifteen years working in criminal and family law and served as a magistrate. I also sat on adoption panels and advised Social Services on the care of foster children.

My debut novel, My Name Is Leon (2016), won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award in 2017. It has since been adapted for the BBC, is studied as part of the GCSE English curriculum, and is currently being developed as a musical with Birmingham Repertory Theatre.

With the proceeds from my first book advance, I established the Kit de Waal Scholarship at Birkbeck in 2016. The scholarship provides a fully funded place on the MA Creative Writing course for a talented student who might otherwise be unable to afford it, and it continues to support new writers today.

My second novel, The Trick to Time, was longlisted for the Women's Prize. My first YA novel, Becoming Dinah, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. In 2019, I crowdfunded Common People, an anthology of working-class memoir by both new and established writers.

My short story collection, Supporting Cast, was published in 2020. My memoir, Without Warning and Only Sometimes, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2022, and my latest novel, The Best of Everything, was longlisted for the Women's Prize in 2026.

In 2019, I co-founded Primadonna Festival. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I also co-founded Big Book Weekend, a free virtual literary festival that attracted an audience of more than 100,000 people. Alongside my fiction, I've written award-winning short stories and flash fiction, as well as work for BBC Radio 4, The Old Vic, The Abbey Theatre, Birmingham Repertory Theatre, and co-wrote The Third Day for SKY/HBO.

I was named Future Person of the Year 2019 and I regularly judge literary prizes and had the honour of serving as Chair of Judges for the Women's Prize in 2025.