Jonathan Walker

I began my career as a historian of Venice. My first book Pistols! Treason! Murder! is a non-fiction account of the career of a seventeenth-century Venetian spy, Gerolamo Vano. It was shortlisted for two prizes.

I subsequently became a writer and photographer. My first novel Five Wounds is a dark fairy tale set in an alternate version of Venice, created in collaboration with the illustrator Dan Hallett. It was shortlisted for an Aurealis Award. My second novel The Angels of L19 is a horror story set in an evangelical church in 1984 Liverpool, a world I grew up in. My third novel Push Process is based around my photographs of Venice, and was published in March 2024. I’ve also recently produced several photography zines.

I have doctorates in history (University of Cambridge) and creative writing (University of Kent). I’ve taught creative writing at university, and I make frequent public appearances, for instance, at the Melbourne and Sydney Writers’ Festivals and as a panellist at several science-fiction or fantasy conventions. I’ve also been interviewed several times on the radio, and I’ve recently spoken to creative-writing students at the universities of Glasgow and Kent, and Canterbury Christ Church University.