I’m a writer and critic with a particular interest in literature, art, history and landscapes.

My first book, To the River, is published by Canongate and was described as 'sublime' by the Times, 'magical' by the Telegraph and 'deeply intelligent' by Literary Review. It was a book of the year in the Evening Standard, Independent and Financial Times.

I'm now working on The Trip to Echo Spring, a literary history of the liquid links between writers and alcohol. Its cast of drinkers includes Tennessee Williams, Raymond Carver, John Berryman and Frank O'Hara.

Between 2007 and 2009, I was Deputy Books Editor of the Observer. I continue to write and review widely, for the Observer, New Statesman, TLS and Guardian among other publications. Recent awards include a MacDowell fellowship and grants from the Arts Council and the Authors' Foundation. You can view my Guardian profile here and my New Statesman profile here.

I'm represented by the Marsh Agency. If you'd like to discuss commissions of any sort, do contact me directly or via my agent. And if you'd like to know why I spent my early twenties living feral in the Sussex countryside you can read my Observer 'Once Upon a Life' here.