Catherine Webb (born 1986) is a British author. She also writes fantasy novels for adults under the name Kate Griffin, and she writes science fiction as Claire North.

Life

Webb was educated at the

Godolphin and Latymer School The Godolphin and Latymer School is an independent day school for girls in Hammersmith, West London. The school motto is an ancient Cornish phrase, ''Francha Leale Toge'', which translates as "free and loyal art thou". The school crest inclu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, and the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. She was 14 years old when she completed ''Mirror Dreams'', which was written during her school holidays. Her father is author and publisher Nick Webb, and he suggested she should send the manuscript to an agent he knew, who eventually offered to represent her. The book was published in 2002 by Atom Books, and Webb was named Young Trailblazer of the Year by the magazine ''

CosmoGirl ''CosmoGirl'', also stylized as ''CosmoGIRL!'', was an American magazine based in New York City, published from 1999 until 2008. The teenage spin-off of ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine, it targeted teenage girls and featured fashion and celebrities. It ...

'' UK. She has published eight young adult novels, all with Atom Books, and studied at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...

, from which she graduated in 2010. A lifelong Londoner, Webb enjoys walking through the areas she describes in her books –

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redisco ...

, and along the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

– comparing the city of London as it is now with how it was at various times in the past. She appeared in ''CosmoGirl'' in 2006/7 in an interview. She also appeared in online interviews with

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...

and nzgirl when she was 15, and also with ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', which described her as a teen queen.

Bibliography

* ''Mirror Dreams'' (2002) * ''Mirror Wakes'' (2003) * ''Waywalkers'' (2003) * ''Timekeepers'' (2004) * ''The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle'' (2006) * ''The Obsidian Dagger: Being the Further Extraordinary Adventures of Horatio Lyle'' (2006) * ''The Doomsday Machine: Another Astounding Adventure of Horatio Lyle'' (2008) * ''The Dream Thief: An Extraordinary Horatio Lyle Mystery'' (2010) As Kate Griffin * ''A Madness of Angels'' (2009) (Matthew Swift series, book 1) * ''The Midnight Mayor'' (2010) (Matthew Swift series, book 2) * ''The Neon Court'' (2011) (Matthew Swift series, book 3) * ''The Minority Council'' (2012) (Matthew Swift series, book 4) * ''Stray Souls'' (2012) (Magicals Anonymous series, book 1) * ''The Glass God'' (2013) (Magicals Anonymous series, book 2) As Claire North * ''

The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August ''The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'' is a novel by Claire North, a pseudonym of British author Catherine Webb, published in April 2014. It won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, was nominated for the Arthur ...

'' (2014) * ''Touch'' (2015) * ''The Gameshouse'' (2015) * ''The Sudden Appearance of Hope'' (2016) * ''The End of the Day'' (2017) * ''84K'' (May 22, 2018) * ''The Pursuit of William Abbey'' (2019) * ''Notes from the Burning Age'' (2021) * ''Ithaca'' (2022)

Awards and nominations

* 2005, ''Timekeepers'' nominated for the Carnegie Medal * 2006, ''The Extraordinary and Unusual Adventures of Horatio Lyle'' nominated for the Carnegie Medal * 2014, ''The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'' (as Claire North) nominated for the

BSFA The British Science Fiction Association Limited is an organisation founded in 1958 by a group of British academics, science fiction fans, authors, publishers and booksellers, in order to promote the writing, criticism, and study of science fiction ...

Award for Best Novel * 2015, ''The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'' (as Claire North) won the John Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year * 2015, ''The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'' (as Claire North) nominated for the

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

for Best Science Fiction Novel * 2017, ''The Sudden Appearance of Hope'' (as Claire North) won the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

for novel

References

External links

Catherine Webb at Little, Brown Book Group
*

Kate Griffin's official Web site and blog

The story behind The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August - Online Essay by Claire North
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webb, Catherine British children's writers 1986 births People educated at Godolphin and Latymer School Alumni of the London School of Economics Living people English fantasy writers English historical novelists British child writers Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art World Fantasy Award-winning writers British women novelists