Catherine Webb (Claire North)

Catherine’s first book published under the Claire North pen name was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which became a word-of-mouth bestseller and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The follow-up, Touch, was described by the Independent as ‘little short of a masterpiece’, and her next novel The Sudden Appearance of Hope won the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. The End of the Day was shortlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award.  Her fifth book under the Claire North pseudonym, 84K, received a special citation in the Philip K Dick Awards 2019.  Her trilogy about Penelope, begins with Ithaca (A Sunday Times Fiction Book of the Year).

Catherine’s first novel, Mirror Dreams, was completed when she was 14 years old. The book was published in 2002 and garnered comparisons with Terry Pratchett and Philip Pullman.

 

Catherine went on to publish a further seven young adult novels under her own name, earning her extensive critical acclaim and two Carnegie nominations for her novels Timekeepers and The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle.

 

Under the open pseudonym Kate Griffin, she has also since published a further six fantasy novels for adults. Dubbed the Matthew Swift and Magicals Anonymous novels, these books are set in an alternate modern-day London saturated with magic. They revolve around the concept that the pulse, the rhythm and the heartbeat of the city and the millions of people living within it becomes a palpable form of magic itself.

 

Catherine also publishes under the pseudonym Claire North. Her first book published under the Claire North pen name was The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, which became a word-of-mouth bestseller and was shortlisted for the Arthur C. Clarke Award. The follow-up Touch was described by the Independent as ‘little short of a masterpiece’, and her next novel The Sudden Appearance of Hope won the 2017 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel. Her recent novel The End of the Day was shortlisted for the 2017 Sunday Times/PFD Young Writer of the Year Award. Her book 84k got a special citation in the Philip K Dick Awards 2019).  Since then, a linked series of novellas, Gameshouse, and the novel The Pursuit of William Abbey, have been published.  Most of her books are under option for film/TV.

Catherine currently works as a theatre lighting designer and is a fan of big cities, urban magic, Thai food and graffiti-spotting. She lives in London.

Cat is represented by Meg Davis