Lauren James is the twice Carnegie-nominated British author of many Young Adult novels, including The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe and The Quiet at the End of the World. She is also a Creative Writing lecturer, freelance editor and screenwriter.
Her books have sold over a hundred thousand copies worldwide, been translated into five languages and shortlisted for the YA Book Prize and STEAM Children’s Book Award.
Her other novels include The Next Together series, the dyslexia-friendly novella series The Watchmaker and the Duke and serialised online novel An Unauthorised Fan Treatise.
She was born in 1992, and has a Masters degree from the University of Nottingham, UK, where she studied Chemistry and Physics. Lauren is a passionate advocate of STEM further education, and all of her books feature female scientists in prominent roles. She sold the rights to her first novel when she was 21, whilst she was still at university.
Her writing has been described as ‘gripping romantic sci-fi’ by the Wall Street Journal and ‘a strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water’ by Entertainment Weekly. The Last Beginning was named one of the best LGBT-inclusive works for young adults by the Independent.
Lauren lives in the West Midlands and is an Arts Council grant recipient. She has written articles for numerous publications, including the Guardian, Buzzfeed, Den of Geek, The Toast, and the Children’s Writers and Artist’s Yearbook 2021. She teaches creative writing for Coventry University, WriteMentor, and Writing West Midlands, providing creative writing courses to children through the Spark Young Writers programme.
Pronouns: she/her
Contact Information
- Email: laurenjamesauthor@gmail.com
- Literary Agent & Film Enquiries: Claire Wilson (Rogers, Coleridge and White)
- Publicist: Kirsten Cozens at Walker
- If you need to interview an author for a school or university project, you can find an archive of answered questions I’ve been sent in the past here.
Latest news
- A Definitive Ranking of the Deadliest Ghosts in FictionIn my new novel The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, my ghosts have magical powers, based on their personality and heritage. These powers can be anything from shape-shifting and hypnotism to clothing manipulation, so some are more useful than others.Continue reading “A Definitive Ranking of the Deadliest Ghosts in Fiction”
- My favourite female antiheroesIn my new novel The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, I did something I’ve wanted to do for years – write about a girl who is unapologetically, completely evil. I’d never seen a villainous female character – like Loki –Continue reading “My favourite female antiheroes”
- In conversation with my editorTo celebrate the launch of The Reckless Afterlife of Harriet Stoker, I sat down with my editor at Walker Books, Emily McDonnell, to discuss writing, editing, and all things publishing. I’ve been working with Emily and Walker Books since 2014,Continue reading “In conversation with my editor”
