Holly Race
Radio/tv/screenwriter, Novelist
About
Holly Race is a novelist and screenwriter, with a particular interest in using fantasy and historical inspiration as springboards to interrogate issues of class, privilege, gender bias and political extremism. Her debut trilogy, the Midnight’s Twins series (Hot Key, 2020), uses Arthurian legend within an urban fantasy setting to explore the ‘culture wars’ that leapt up in the wake of Brexit. Her next trilogy, Six Wild Crowns (Orbit, 2025), is an historical fantasy retelling of the six wives of Henry VIII as envisioned through an intersectional feminist lens.
In 2022, Holly was the reading ambassador for educational charity PIXL, selecting and recommending a wide range of fiction and nonfiction books to appeal to teenage students. She continues to work with PIXL, whose aim of instilling a love of reading in young people is close to her heart.
Prior to becoming a writer, Holly spent ten years as a script editor in film and television after graduating from Oriel College, Oxford with a degree in English, followed by the National Film and Television School with a diploma in script development. She has worked for companies such as Red Planet Pictures, the Imaginarium Studios, Working Title Films and Aardman Animations and on series such as popular cosy crime drama Death in Paradise. She remains connected to the screen world through occasional freelance editorial work and her own scriptwriting.
Holly lives in Cambridge with her husband and daughter. When she isn’t writing, she can usually be found renovating their crumbling Regency era townhouse.