Helen Grant

I have written six novels for young adults, including The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, which was shortlisted for the Carnegie medal. My first adult novel Ghost was published in 2018.

I would describe my novels as Gothic thrillers. I often include elements of folklore, snippets of real history and atmospheric real life locations in my work. My research has taken me up the tallest bell tower in Belgium, down the Paris catacombs and through the Brussels sewers, and I love to talk about these experiences! I also enjoy talking and workshopping about how to find inspiration in real life locations and history.

As well as novels, I write short ghost stories for adults, one of which was featured in Best British Horror 2015. I recently appeared at the Dublin Ghost Story Festival. In addition to fiction, I have written a series of articles about the ghost story writer Montague Rhodes James, and delivered papers about aspects of his work at the M.R. James and the Modern Ghost Story conference in Leeds and the Through A Glass Darkly conference in York.

I can offer talks about the work of M.R. James; these are mostly of interest to adult audiences.