Jess Kidd
Photo Credit: Travis McBride
Jess Kidd was brought up in London as part of a large family from County Mayo. Her first novel, Himself, was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards in 2016 and she was the winner of the Costa Short Story Award in the same year. In 2017, Himself was shortlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award and longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger. Her second novel, The Hoarder, was shortlisted for the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award and longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award. Both books were BBC Radio 2 Book Club picks.
@JessKiddHerself | jesskidd.com
The Hoarder
The mesmerising second novel from Jess Kidd, featured on BBC Radio 2 Book Club. A ‘dark, comical tale of haunting and hoarding … Brilliant’ The Times
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
