Jess Kidd
Jess Kidd wanted to be a writer before she could even write. She comes from a big noisy (and nosy) family where storytelling was a favourite pastime. Jess was quite shy when she was little so she learnt to write down the stories she imagined. Then she gave them to her friends and relatives to enjoy.
Jess has received praise for her books and always aims to give her readers an ‘experience.’ She is currently writing her fourth novel, teaching at her local college and working on TV and film projects. Oh, and playing tug-of-war over socks with Wilkie the dog.
Jess Kidd, author of The Hoarder, goes through the shelves of Waterstones to talk about some of the authors that inspired her – from Charles Dickens to Angela Carter and David Almond.
Jess Kidd on the experience and research that informed her new novel, The Hoarder. You can listen to the full interview with Jess on the BBC’s Front Row website.
“Characterisation is where Kidd excels. Cathal Flood is wonderfully enigmatic and complex, and the first description of Maud’s landlady Renata … is assurance if any were needed that this is a writer with a poet’s skill of balancing clarity and inventive flair … Just as Mulderrig in Himself was conjured out of a beautiful, often erotic lyricism, so Bridlemere is brought to life by Kidd’s rich depictions of decay and eccentricity”
Andrew Michael Hurley
The Guardian
“Eerie, engrossing … The author skilfully sifts through the secrets harboured in homes and haunting the heart … The tension between concealing and revealing utterly grips”
Anita Sethi
The Observer
