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 pu ...

, ''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 in Coverdale in North Yorkshire, England.

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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's '' Open Book'' programme "British Gothic" in October 2015.

Literary career

Hurley has previously had two volumes of short stories published by Lime Tree Press: ''Cages and Other Stories'' (2006) and ''The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories'' (2008). ''The Loney'' was reviewed in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

''. It is set in the area of

Morecambe Bay Morecambe Bay is an estuary in north-west 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 largest ga ...

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 Award for First Novel The Costa Book Award for First Novel, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971–2006), was an annual literary award for authors' debut novels, part of the Costa Book Awards which were discontinued in 2022, the 2021 awards being the last made. ...

as well as the British Book Industry Award for best debut fiction and book of the year. 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 King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

's 2018

Encore Award The £15,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor, presented by the Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King Ge ...

for best second novel. Hurley's third novel ''Starve Acre'' was published 31 October 2019 by John Murray. 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". ''

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

Starve Acre ''Starve Acre'' is a 2023 British folk horror film written and directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, based upon the 2019 novel of the same name by Andrew Michael Hurley. The film stars Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. ''Starve Acre'' had its world prem ...

'' based on the book, was directed by

Daniel Kokotajlo Daniel Kokotajlo (born ) is a British film writer and director. He has also used the name Dan P. K. Smyth. He wrote and directed the 2017 film ''Apostasy'', which reflects his own experience of growing up as a Jehovah's Witness, and the 2023 fi ...

, starred

Morfydd Clark Morfydd Clark (; born 17 March 1989) is a Welsh actress. She is best known for playing Galadriel in the Amazon Prime series '' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'' (2022–present). She received a number of accolades for her performance in ...

and

Matt Smith Matthew Robert Smith (born 28 October 1982) is an English actor. He is known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010–2013), Prince Philip in Netflix's historical series ''The Crown ( ...

, and premiered at the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

2023. His fourth novel, ''Barrowbeck'' was published on 24 October 2024 and comprises a collection of tales about the fictional village of Barrowbeck, on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border, across 1,000 years.

Personal life

He lives in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, where he teaches English literature and creative writing.

Awards

Publications

Novels

* ''The Loney'' (2014,

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; ) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's '' Gorgias'' (), souls are judged after ...

: ; 2015, John Murray: ) * ''Devil's Day'' (2017, John Murray: ; Tartarus: ) * ''Starve Acre'' (2019, John Murray: ) * ''Barrowbeck'' (2024, John Murray: )

Collections

* ''Cages and Other Stories'' (2006, Lime Tree Press: ) * ''The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories'' (2008, Lime Tree Press: )

References

External links

* ''Includes questions and answers, with a link to an extract from "The Loney"'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, Andrew Michael 1975 births Living people English horror writers Place of birth missing (living people) Date of birth missing (living people)