Nick Holdstock

Nick Holdstock is a writer of fiction and non-fiction. His first non-fiction book, The Tree That Bleeds (Luath, 2012) was a memoir of the year he spent living in China’s western Xinjiang region. His second book, China’s Forgotten People (IB Tauris 2015), examined the history and politics of this region in more depth and was translated into several languages. His third book, Chasing the Chinese Dream (Bloomsbury, 2018) told the human stories behind China’s urbanization campaign. His first novel, The Casualties (St Martins, 2015) was described as ‘a brilliant, one-of-a-kind story…a lightning bolt of a book.’ His second novel, Quarantine (Swift, 2022), explored a post-pandemic future. His forthcoming third novel, Porcupine (Sagging Meniscus, 2026) which was shortlisted for the Novel Prize, recreates the inner life of the art historian Aby Warburg during his time in a Swiss asylum.

He also writes journalism and reviews for a wide variety of publications, such as the Guardian, the Times Literary Supplement, New Statesmen, London Review of Books, and the Financial Times. His short fiction has appeared in publications such as the Southern Review and the Manchester Review; in 2014 his story ‘Ward’ won the Willesden Herald International short story prize. His current projects include working on a new novel and a memoir about fear.