Stephanie Jane Merritt (born 1974 in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

) is an English

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

and writer who has contributed to publications including '' The Times'', '' The Daily Telegraph'', the '' New Statesman'', '' New Humanist'' and '' Die Welt''. She was Deputy Literary Editor of '' The Observer'' from 1998 to 2005 and currently writes for '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian'', in addition to writing novels — under her own name as well as the pseudonym S. J. Parris. Merritt read English at

Queens' College Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

, and graduated from Cambridge University in 1996. Merritt's first novel ''Gaveston'' ( Faber & Faber) won a

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

from the Society of Authors in 2002. Her second novel was ''Real'' (2005), about a struggling young playwright, for which she was also commissioned to write the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

. In 2010, ''Heresy'' was published, her first novel in the series of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

thrillers featuring

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmologic ...

. It was followed by ''Prophecy'' (2011) ''Sacrilege'' (2012), ''Treachery'' (2014), ''Conspiracy'' (2016) and ''Execution'' (2020). She has also written a memoir, ''The Devil Within'', published by Vermilion in 2008 and shortlisted for the Mind Book Award, which discusses her experiences living with clinical depression. Merritt has appeared regularly as a critic and panellist on BBC Radio 4 and

BBC Radio 4 Extra BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...

, has been a judge for the Costa Biography Award and the Orange New Writing Award as well as the Perrier Award, and is a regular interviewer and author at literary festivals, as well as the National Theatre. During 2007 and 2008, she curated the Talks and Debates programme on issues in contemporary arts and politics at London's Soho Theatre.Curtis Brown: author profile: Stephanie Merritt
UK.

Bibliography

As Stephanie Merritt

* ''Gaveston'' (2002) * ''Real'' (2005) * ''The Devil Within'' (2008) * ''While You Sleep'' (2018)

As S.J. Parris

Series based on the Italian philosopher

(1548–1600) * ''Heresy'' (2010) * ''Prophecy'' (2011) * ''Sacrilege'' (2012) * ''Treachery'' (2014) * ''Conspiracy'' (2016) * ''Execution'' (2020) * ''The Dead of Winter'' (2020) (collects three prequel novellas: ''The Secret Dead'' (2014), ''The Academy of Secrets'' (2020) and ''A Christmas Requiem'' (2020)) The prequel novellas that make up ''The Dead of Winter'' have been published separately as e-books as well.

References

External links

Official website
*
Stephanie Merritt Photograph
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Stephanie 1974 births Living people People from Surrey Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 21st-century English novelists English critics The Guardian journalists