Helen Walsh (born 1976) is an English novelist and film director. Her novels include ''Brass'', which won a Betty Trask Award, and ''Once Upon a Time in England'', which won a

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

Personal life

Walsh was born in

Warrington Warrington () is a town and unparished area in the borough of the same name in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, on the banks of the River Mersey. It is east of Liverpool, and west of Manchester. The population in 2019 was estimat ...

, Cheshire, in 1976. At the age of 16, she moved to

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Spain but returned to England in her early twenties.

Writing

Her first novel, ''Brass'', was published in 2004 and won a Betty Trask Award. Her second novel, ''Once Upon a Time In England'', was published in 2008 and won a 2009

and was shortlisted for the 2008

Portico Prize The Portico Library, The Portico or Portico Library and Gallery on Mosley Street, Manchester, is an independent subscription library designed in the Greek Revival style by Thomas Harrison of Chester and built between 1802 and 1806. It is reco ...

. Her third novel, ''Go to Sleep'' was published in 2011. All three were published by Canongate Press. Walsh's most recent novel, ''The Lemon Grove'', was published in 2014 by Tinder Press. It concerns the illicit relationship between a woman and her stepdaughter's 17-year-old boyfriend on holiday in Mallorca.

Film

Walsh has also worked in the film industry. Her directorial debut ''The Violators'' was released in 2016.

References

External links

Official Helen Walsh websiteBritish Council pageCanongate page for Helen Walsh2009 interview
21st-century English novelists People from Warrington 1977 births Living people {{UK-writer-stub