Andrew Michael Hurley (born 1975) is a British writer whose

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''The Loney'', was published in a limited edition of 350 copies on 1 October 2014 by

Tartarus Press Tartarus Press is an independent book publisher based near Leyburn, Yorkshire, UK.

and was published under Hodder and Stoughton's John Murray imprint in 2015 (). He was interviewed on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

's '' Open Book'' programme "British Gothic" in October 2015. ''The Loney'' has been reviewed in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' and ''

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''. It is set in the area of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is a large estuary in northwest England, just to the south of the Lake District National Park. It is the largest expanse of intertidal mudflats and sand in the United Kingdom, covering a total area of . In 1974, the second larges ...

in north west England, described in the text as "that strange nowhere between the Wyre and the Lune". Hurley has said that the novel's two starting points were "to write a kind of dark version of the Nativity ..and exploring ideas of faith and belief" and "various wild, lonely places on the north west coast of Lancashire ..a sense of imminent menace or dormant power lying just under the sand and the water". It is the winner of the 2015 Costa Book Awards First Novel Award as well as the British Book Industry award for best debut fiction and book of the year. Hurley has previously had two volumes of short stories published by the Lime Tree Press (''Cages and Other Stories'', 2006, , and ''The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories'', 2008, ). He lives in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, where he teaches English literature and creative writing. His second novel, ''Devil's Day'', was published on 19 October 2017 by John Murray () and Tartarus Press () Its setting, "The Endlands", is based on Langden valley in Lancashire's

Forest of Bowland The Forest of Bowland, also known as the Bowland Fells and formerly the Chase of Bowland, is an area of gritstone fells, deep valleys and peat moorland, mostly in north-east Lancashire, England, with a small part in North Yorkshire (however ro ...

. The book "deploys myth, landscape and the tropes of horror to chilling effect". Hurley was joint winner of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...

's 2018

Encore Award The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second novels, often neglecte ...

for the best second novel. Hurley's third novel ''Starve Acre'' was published 31 October 2019 by John Murray (). Film rights had been bought by House Productions. The "Starve Acre" of the title is the home of a couple whose child has died, and it is "a novel which grapples with the irrationality and complexity of grief, the power and potency of folklore, and a moving examination of the effect a child's loss can have on its parents". ''

s critic described it as "an atmospheric tale in the same tradition of English folk-horror" as his previous two books.

References

External links

* ''Includes questions and answers, with a link to an extract from "The Loney"'' 1975 births Living people English horror writers Place of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people) {{UK-writer-stub