Katharine McMahon

Fellow at University of Hertfordshire, 2001-03 Advisory Fellow, 2003-05 Project Fellow, 2003/04 Advisory Fellow, 2007-11 Fellow at University College London, 2008/09

Katharine McMahon was born in northwest London and studied English and Drama at Bristol University. She is the author of eight novels. The paperback of her latest book, Season of Light, set during the French Revolution is published in June 2012. The Rose of Sebastopol (Weidenfeld & Nicholson), set during the Crimean War, was a Richard & Judy Bookclub Selection for 2008. A previous novel, The Alchemist's Daughter, was a Waterstones Paperback of the Year for 2006. Her novels are published in the US and across Europe. She is currently working on a sequel to her novel The Crimson Rooms.

Katharine has taught creative writing in universities and for the Arvon Foundations and is a mentor on the Eastern Arts Council Escalator programme; she has appeared at festivals across the country and on 'Woman's Hour' for BBC Radio 4. She has written lyrics for Janie Dee, which were performed on 'Loose Ends' and at the National Theatre Studio. She has taught English and Drama in secondary schools and performed in local theatre. Katharine wrote a report for the RLF, What's Going on with Students' Writing?, in which she explored the state of writing in British universities. This work was developed further when she was a co-author of the RLF report, Writing Matters. Since April 2010 Katharine has served on the Sentencing Council of England and Wales.

Email:

katharine.mcmahon@btinternet.com

Website:    http://www.katharinemcmahon.com/