I’m going on a UK book tour for Hunger and Thirst!
I’ll be travelling from North to South and East to West. And I hope that you can join me at one of my stops. If none of them are near you, then you might be able to join me on one of my two online events.
The tour kicks off with a launch in Winchester on 8th May. This two-hour event includes a glass of wine and a piece of cake, and the chance to win some bookish goodies. I’ll be interviewed by author and journalist, Rebecca Fletcher followed by a Q&A and book signing. If you’re local, please do join me.
I’ll be doing two events that include music from Henry Ayling who has written some creepy piano music as featured in the book. My events with him are in Bristol, and later in the year, Southampton.
My two online events are on 12th May hosted by the Bridport Prize when my literary agent, Jane Finigan from Lutyens and Rubinstein will be in conversation; and on 20th May with Bard Books and Blue Pencil. If you can’t make it to an in-person event, I hope you’ll be able to make it to one of these. Booking will be available soon.
And, if you aren’t in the UK, but would like to come to a US-based online event, then I’ll be online on June 4 6pm EDT.
I’m delighted that The Bookseller – the trade magazine for booksellers in the UK – has interviewed me about Hunger and Thirst, and unexpectedly I’m on the cover. Can you spot the extra little fly they’ve added?
I was interviewed by Alice O’Keeffe, who starts with:
Picture a haunted house. What do you see in your mind’s eye? Perhaps a Gothic pile, a ruined tower, some bats? Probably not a suburban bungalow in Hampshire, but that may change once you read Claire Fuller’s genuinely disturbing literary horror, Hunger & Thirst.
You probably need a subscription to The Bookseller to read the rest of it, but you can read it here.
And if it sounds like your kind of thing you can pre-order it here from Bookshop.org, and it will pop through your letterbox on 7th May or thereabouts.
Have you started writing a novel but now you’re confused? Unsure? Bogged down? Or just want to finish?
Join two bestselling authors for an expert-led one-day Novel Writing Masterclass in Winchester, Hampshire.
Following their successful, sold-out masterclass in 2025, Oxford University Creative Writing tutor and author, Lucy Atkins, and Costa Prize Winning author and creative writing teacher, Claire Fuller are once again teaching one-day novel writing masterclass.
What makes this Novel Writing Masterclass so unique?
Creative writing courses can be, at best, underwhelming – at worst, downright misleading. This one-day masterclass is different. Lucy and Claire not only have extensive experience teaching Creative Writing at the very highest level, they have a proven track record as published authors of bestselling, critically-acclaimed, award-winning novels.
In short, they know what makes a good book – and they know how to teach you!
With ten published novels between them, they also understand how complex and difficult writing can be. This masterclass, which takes place in central Winchester, Hampshire, offers a unique opportunity to learn from and ask questions of two experienced writers and Creative Writing tutors. For this reason, places are strictly limited to 14.
Who is this Masterclass for?
This day is aimed specifically at writers who have started writing a novel but not yet finished.
You will learn to:
Understand how a plot that builds can move your writing forward
Create compelling characters
Analyse your first 30 pages and see what is and isn’t working
Master the all-important skill of self-editing
Prepare your novel so that is is ready to send out to literary agents
You’ll leave inspired and energised with a toolbox of practical tips, strategies and ideas that you can apply to your own work. And perhaps most importantly, you’ll gain renewed enthusiasm, energy and a sense of creative direction.
About Lucy Lucy teaches on the Creative Writing Masters degree at the University of Oxford. She is the author of five novels, including the bestselling Magpie Lane, and most recently Windmill Hill, a summer book pick for both the Guardian and the Observer. Find Lucy’s ‘Talking About Writing’ sessions with Claire and other well-known authors on Instagram @lucyatkinswriter.
About Claire Claire is the author of five novels including the Costa Novel Prize-winning and Women’s Prize-shortlisted novel, Unsettled Ground. Her sixth novel, Hunger and Thirst, will be published in May 2026. She has taught creative writing for many years for various organisations including The Women’s Prize, Arvon, literary festivals and creative writing academies. Her teaching is said to be fun but also very practical, so that students leave with concrete methods for improving their own writing. Follow Claire on Instagram.
What previous Novel Writing Masterclass students said about the day
“I was particularly interested in the Plotting and Character modules and seeing these elements really being broken down. It was great to see the plot/shape of a novel being explained visually on the flipchart. It made me aware of how I should be approaching these areas in my own writing.“
“I just wanted to say a huge thank you for yesterday’s brilliant and inspiring workshop. You both put so much thought and energy and generosity (sharing your knowledge) into it.“
“Such a privilege to be able to learn so much from two authors I admire immensely, especially as I’m just setting out on this journey. You should both be very proud of how the day went and I really appreciate all the thought and work you put into creating the content. I thought you both worked really well together and split up the modules well so we weren’t listening to one voice for too long at a time.“
“A big thank you to you both for your time and the inspiration from the course.“
Further information
This intensive day is structured around mini workshops taught by both Claire and Lucy, each including writing exercises and time for discussion. There will be opportunities to put your questions to both tutors, and meet your fellow writers.
The price includes sustaining snacks, delicious cakes, hot drinks and a tasty lunch.
The Arc is located in central Winchester only 10 minutes walk from the nearest large carpark (Tower Street), and also only 10 minutes walk from Winchester station.
We look forward to welcoming you to our Masterclass!
In 1969 Frances Jellico arrives at Lyntons, a dilapidated English country house, to survey the follies in the garden. There, she meets Cara and Peter, and when she is in her bathroom in the attics of the house she finds a hole in her bathroom floor and she cannot resist spying on her new friends in their bathroom below. Frances has a story to tell, as does Cara, but you can’t believe everything either woman says.
Over on Instagram, I’m running a Giveaway for a signed UK proof of my next novel, Hunger and Thirst, which will be published in May.
Hunger and Thirst is about Ursula, a reclusive sculptor, who in 1987 when she is 16 meets wild-child, Sue. Sue dares Ursula to kill someone and when she actually does, Ursula is haunted for the rest of her life.
The Giveaway closes at midnight 17th January 2026.
Pre-order Hunger and Thirst from Barnes & Noble on December 30 through Thursday, January 1 and you can get a 25% discount.
Just use the code PREORDER25 on their website.
B&N Rewards members will get 25% off pre-orders, and B&N Premium members will get 25% off, plus an additional 10% discount. Becoming a Rewards member is free and can be done online.
Pre-order Hunger and Thirst from Waterstones today and get 25% off! Offer ends 17th October. Just enter OCTOBER25 at checkout. And you’ll get a sneaky preview of the UK cover, which I’m not officially revealing yet.
The book will land on your doormat in early May 2026, and you won’t pay until it’s dispatched. (And if for some reason the price goes down before then, you’ll pay the lower price.)
Pre-orders help books and authors enormously The more pre-orders, the more likely book shops are to stock Hunger & Thirst, and the more they stock, the more readers will see it and hopefully buy it. I’m hugely grateful for every pre-order.
Hunger and Thirst is about Ursula, who at sixteen accepts a dare from her best friend to kill someone and when she does, she is haunted – literally haunted – for the rest of her life.
I’m delighted to reveal the US cover of Hunger and Thirst which will be published by Tin House, an imprint of Zando, on 2nd June 2026. I love it so much: the boldness of the yellow font, the sculpture (the main character in the book is a sculptor), and the flies… I won’t tell you how the flies come into it; you’ll have to read it find out.
Yesterday, CrimeReads revealed the cover on their website, together with a piece I wrote about why this is the perfect cover – designed by Beth Steidle – for Hunger and Thirst.
They also published an excerpt from the beginning of the book, so if you’d like a taster before you pre-order, you can read it here.
And if you’re in the US here’s a list of places that you can pre-order it from, or of course you local independent bookstore.
For those in the UK and Canada, you’ll have to wait a little longer to see these covers. But let me know what you think of this one!
About the book 1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job delivering mail at a local art school, a bed in a halfway house, and—delightfully— some new friends, including wild-child, Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at The Underwood, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end, she can’t resist this hodgepodge family. But as Sue’s behavior and demands become more extreme, Ursula who has always been hungry—for food—and more importantly for love, acceptance and belonging, carries out her friend’s terrible dare. And, for this, Ursula finds herself literally haunted.
Thirty-six years later, Ursula is a renowned, reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by true-crime documentary-maker, Emma Zahini who is digging into an unsolved disappearance. But it is not only the filmmaker who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts, and as her past catches up with her present, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without.
Calling all readers in Bath and beyond! On 7th October I’ll be at Mr B’s Emporium to interview Andrev Walden, the author of Bloody Awful In Different Ways. I loved this book.
This is what I had to say about it when I first read it:
Bloody Awful in Different Ways by Andrev Walden is so good. It’s already on my top ten reads of the year and I can’t imagine it getting bumped. Starting in 1983 seven-year-old Andrev has seven ‘dads’ in seven years, beginning with the one he thought was his biological father who turns out not to be, we meet all of the men that Andrev’s mother dates or moves in with, or move in with her. None of them seem to want Andrev or his half-siblings around. There is domestic violence but there is also humour, and my goodness Andrev Walden (an acclaimed Swedish journalist) can write. Andrev has told me on Instagram that even though it’s called a novel, it’s ‘a very true story’, and it certainly reads like one. Translated from Swedish by Ian Giles. Darkly funny, and comically tragic. An absolute gem. I loved it. Highly recommended.
This is what Mr B’s Emporium has to say:
Already a phenomenal international bestseller with a film adaptation in the works, Bloody Awful in Different Ways won the the 2023 August Prize, Sweden’s most prestigious literary award. This vivid and joyful novel follows a young boy who has seven fathers in seven years, and has already been loved by our bookseller Sue, who describes it as ‘poignant, funny and bloody brilliant in every way.’
And a bit about Andrev:
Andrev Walden is an acclaimed Swedish journalist and columnist who has worked for Dagens Nyheter and Aftonbladet. In 2017, he became the first columnist to be nominated for the Swedish Grand Prize for journalism, praised for his ability to ‘find the everyday drama in the big questions’, and to make us ‘laugh and see the world, the family and ourselves in a new and slightly wiser light’. He lives in Stockholm.
I’m very excited to let you know that fellow author and Oxford University creative writing tutor, Lucy Atkins and I are running a one-day novel writing retreat in Oxford on 13th November 2025. We’ll be teaching character, setting, inspiration, plot and lots more. It’s going to be intense, informative and fun. Places are very limited, so book yours quickly. Click here to find out more.
