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Eliza Clark (British author)

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Eliza Clark
Born1994 (age 30–31)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
OccupationAuthor
Period2020–present
Website
elizaclarkauthor.com

Eliza Clark is an English author.

Life and career

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Clark was born and raised in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. She studied art foundation, focusing on sculpture,[1] before attending the Chelsea College of Arts.[2] Her dissertation was on "how Michel Foucault's ideas of surveillance play out in the online era."[3] Following her graduation in 2016 she briefly worked retail at an Apple Store in Newcastle before receiving funding from the New Writing North's Young Writer's Talent Fund and mentoring under Matt Wesolowski.[4] She then worked at Mslexia magazine as a marketing assistant.[5] Since returning to London, she is currently a creative writing facilitator for young people through the Arvon Foundation.[6] She has cited Kazuo Ishiguro,[1] Vladimir Nabokov, Ryū Murakami,[3] Donna Tartt, Torrey Peters, and A. M. Homes,[5] as influences.

Clark's debut novel Boy Parts (2020) was Blackwell's fiction book of the year in 2020 and a finalist for the Women's Prize for Fiction.[7] Despite critical recognition, the novel was a sleeper hit before gaining popularity on TikTok.[8] It follows Irina Sturges, a psychopathic erotic photographer whose fetish work sexually exploits men she scouts on the streets of Newcastle. The novel's unreliable narrator has been compared to the protagonists of Bret Easton Ellis's American Psycho and Ottessa Moshfegh's My Year of Rest and Relaxation.[9][10][11] It was adapted into a one-woman show by Gillian Greer in 2023, running for six weeks at the Soho Theatre and starring Aimée Kelly.[12][13]

In 2021 Clark signed a two book deal with Faber & Faber.[14] She was featured in Granta's Best of the Young British Novelists in 2023.[15] Her subsequent novel Penance (2023), a metafiction satirizing the true crime genre, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize in 2024.[16] Narrated by disgraced journalist Alec Z. Carrelli, the novel examines a fictional 2016 murder loosely based off the murders of Shanda Sharer and Suzanne Capper.[17] Juno Dawson will adapt the novel for Altitude Television.[18]

Clark's third book She's Always Hungry (2024) is a speculative fiction collection of eleven short stories. Financial Times praised the collection's "controlled blend of feminist dread and surreal eeriness" but found the quality of the short stories uneven.[19] The New York Times, however, labeled it "one of the best collections of the year."[20] In 2024 Clark was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list for media and marketing.[21]

Contemporary online culture is a frequent subject in Clark's work. She has been active online since the age of eight or nine[22] and wrote fanfiction for the video game series Mass Effect as a teenager,[23] but has made an effort to distance herself from online discourse since becoming an author.[24] She and her partner formerly ran the Twitter account GoodreadsBazaar, which was dedicated to "nonsensical Goodreads reviews."[2] They also hosted a podcast together, You Just Don't Get It, Do You?.[17]

Bibliography

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References

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  1. ^ a b Stanford, Eliza (21 September 2023). "A 'Really Online' Writer Looks Beyond the Internet". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  2. ^ a b Ashby, Chloë (22 July 2020). "Eliza Clark: 'I'm from Newcastle and working class. To publishers, I'm diverse'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  3. ^ a b Cummins, Anthony (24 June 2023). "Eliza Clark: 'I'm more primary school teacher than enfant terrible'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  4. ^ "Eliza Clark: 'I've always told stories'". Women's Prize. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  5. ^ a b Finney, Joanne (30 December 2021). "Meet the Futures finalists: Eliza Clark". Good Housekeeping. Archived from the original on 30 December 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  6. ^ "Eliza Clark". Arvon. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Blackwell's Books of the Year". The Publishing Post. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  8. ^ Bromwich, Kathryn (25 August 2024). "'I feel like when I'm 50 people will take me seriously': novelists Eliza Clark and Julia Armfield in conversation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  9. ^ Key, Alys (30 July 2020). "Boy Parts by Eliza Clark, review: shades of Fight Club and American Psycho". The i Paper. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  10. ^ O'Neil, Lauren (5 August 2020). "Ultraviolence, Party Chat, and Erotic Photography: The World of Eliza Clark's 'Boy Parts'". Vice. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  11. ^ Yilmaz, Leyla (11 October 2022). "Lately in Literature: 'Can women kill?' asks Eliza Clark in debut novel, 'Boy Parts'". The Stanford Daily. Archived from the original on 12 October 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  12. ^ "Brand new adaptation of acclaimed novel Boy Parts to premiere at Soho Theatre". Theatre Weekly. 15 June 2023. Archived from the original on 19 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  13. ^ Tripney, Natasha (20 September 2023). "Eliza Clark's BookTok sensation Boy Parts becomes a one-woman show". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  14. ^ Comerford, Ruth (17 May 2021). "Faber signs Boy Parts author Clark in two-book deal". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 25 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  15. ^ Allardice, Lisa (15 April 2023). "Granta's Best of Young British Novelists – meet the class of 23". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  16. ^ "2024 Longlist". Swansea University. Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  17. ^ a b Pierce, Barry (4 July 2023). "'I became interested in the act of making shit up' – Eliza Clark's new novel is a Tumblr true-crime thriller". Hero Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  18. ^ Christian-Sims, Ella (29 November 2023). "Juno Dawson to adapt Eliza Clark's Penance for Altitude Television". Royal Television Society. Archived from the original on 21 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  19. ^ Ross-Southall, Mika (4 December 2024). "She's Always Hungry by Eliza Clark – dark fun with unlikeable people". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 4 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  20. ^ Iglesias, Gabino (30 November 2024). "New Horror Novels That Chill and Entertain". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 30 November 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  21. ^ "Eliza Clark". Forbes. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  22. ^ Disley, Anna (19 June 2020). "Interview with Eliza Clark". New Writing North. Archived from the original on 9 December 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  23. ^ Greig, James (24 November 2024). "Eliza Clark on gender, K-holes and how to write a terrifying short story". Dazed & Confused Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2025.
  24. ^ White, Adam (22 October 2023). "Boy Parts author Eliza Clark: 'Everything's become bland – people just don't want the slop anymore'". The Independent. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
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