Catherine Webb (born 1986) is a British author. Under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Kate Griffin, she writes

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

novels for adults. As Claire North, she writes

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and novels based upon the work of

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Life

Webb was educated at the

Godolphin and Latymer School The Godolphin and Latymer School is a private 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 includes a ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, and the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. 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. I ...

'' UK. She has published eight

young adult novels Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

, all with Atom Books, and studied at the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

, 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 London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

, 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, s ...

– 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 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 brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

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

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

'', which described her as a teen queen.

Bibliography

As Catherine Webb

* ''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) * (The Kitty Peck novels are by a different author also name
Kate Griffin

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 Arth ...

'' (2014) * ''Touch'' (2015) * ''The Gameshouse'' (2015) * ''The Sudden Appearance of Hope'' (2016) * ''The End of the Day'' (2017) * ''84K'' (2018) * ''The Pursuit of William Abbey'' (2019) * ''Notes from the Burning Age'' (2021) * ''The Songs of Penelope'' trilogy ** ''Ithaca'' (2022) ** ''House of Odysseus'' (2023) ** ''The Last Song of Penelope'' (2024)

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 Award for Best Novel The BSFA Awards are given every year by the British Science Fiction Association. The Best Novel award is open to any novel-length work of science fiction or fantasy that has been published in the UK for the first time in the previous year. Seriali ...

* 2015, ''The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'' (as Claire North) nominated for the Arthur C. Clarke Award * 2015, ''The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August'' (as Claire North) won the John W. Campbell Memorial Award * 2017, ''The Sudden Appearance of Hope'' (as Claire North) won the

World Fantasy Award—Novel The World Fantasy Awards are given each year by the World Fantasy Convention for the best fantasy fiction published in English during the previous calendar year. The awards have been described by book critics such as ''The Guardian'' as a "presti ...

References

External links

*
Catherine Webb
at

Little, Brown Book Group Little, Brown Book Group is a UK publishing company created in 1988, with multiple predecessors. Since 2006 Little, Brown Book Group has been owned by Hachette UK, a subsidiary of Hachette Livre. It was acquired in 2006 from Time Warner of New ...

*
Interview with "Kate Griffin"

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