LAURA BARNETT is a novelist and teacher of creative writing based in Kent. Her debut novel, The Versions of Us, was a number-one bestseller, Richard & Judy Book Club pick, and nominee for Debut of the Year at the 2015 British Book Awards. The novel has been translated into 24 languages and is being adapted for television. Her 2017 follow-up Greatest Hits featured a world-first collaboration with musician Kathryn Williams. Her other critically acclaimed novels are Gifts (2021) and This Beating Heart (2022). Births, Deaths and Marriages will be published by Doubleday in June 2025.
Laura is also an experienced creative writing teacher. She is a Senior Lecturer in Fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University, a tutor for Curtis Brown Creative and a Royal Literary Fund Fellow. She has also taught for Arvon and Guardian Masterclasses. In 2017, she gave a TedX talk on writing at Cambridge University. As a mentor, she has worked with the charities Arts Emergency and Spread the Word.
- Areas of expertise: literary fiction, book club fiction, domestic fiction, journalism, short stories
- Location: Kent
- Possible meeting places: The Gulbenkian Cafe, Canterbury; Macknade’s Food Hall, Faversham; the Picturehouse cafe, Ashford
Laura’s website; Laura is also on Facebook and Instagram
