Clare Morrall is an English novelist best known for her debut novel, Astonishing Splashes of Colour (2003), which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. She writes literary fiction and has published several novels exploring themes of isolation, identity and resilience.
Born in Exeter, England, Clare Morrall moved to Birmingham at 18 to study music. She trained as a musician at university and later taught violin, piano, and music theory. For many years, she taught children aged five to eleven and older private students. She devoted time to writing alongside her teaching career, although her early efforts remained unpublished.
Morrall began writing at a young age, drawn to storytelling inspired by her childhood reading. "I was always into Enid Blyton adventures, Biggles stories, novels about boarding schools," she recalls. But it was not until she was in her thirties that she began to write seriously, setting aside time each week to concentrate on fiction. Over the next two decades, she completed several novels, which were repeatedly rejected by publishers and agents.
Despite collecting encouraging rejections, she persevered. "It took me another twenty years to get published," she said.
Her breakthrough came in 2003 with Astonishing Splashes of Colour. The novel follows Kitty, a woman coping with personal loss and an unusual ability to interpret emotions through colour. It was published by Tindal Street Press, a small Birmingham-based publisher, and was unexpectedly shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Morrall later admitted that she had no idea the book had been submitted for the prize. The recognition brought sudden success, and the novel sold over 100,000 copies. Foreign rights were acquired in several countries, including Germany, the United States, and Italy.
After her debut, Morrall continued to write, producing novels such as Natural Flights of the Human Mind (2006), The Language of Others (2008), and The Man Who Disappeared (2010), which was selected for the TV Book Club's 2010 Summer Reads. Her later works include The Roundabout Man (2012), After the Bombing (2014) and When the Floods Came (2016).
The latter, set in a near-future Britain devastated by a virus, follows the Polanski family as they navigate isolation and survival in an abandoned city. Morrall describes it as "rooted in the world as we know it now" but informed by an imagined future. Her latest novel, The Last of the Greenwoods, was published in 2018.
Morrall's writing process evolved after the success of her debut. "After the Booker Prize, I was able to reduce some of my teaching hours," she said. This allowed her to establish a disciplined writing routine, starting early every morning before school.
Clare Morrall lives in Birmingham. She has two grown-up daughters.
Photo credit: mbalit.co.uk
Born in Exeter, England, Clare Morrall moved to Birmingham at 18 to study music. She trained as a musician at university and later taught violin, piano, and music theory. For many years, she taught children aged five to eleven and older private students. She devoted time to writing alongside her teaching career, although her early efforts remained unpublished.
Morrall began writing at a young age, drawn to storytelling inspired by her childhood reading. "I was always into Enid Blyton adventures, Biggles stories, novels about boarding schools," she recalls. But it was not until she was in her thirties that she began to write seriously, setting aside time each week to concentrate on fiction. Over the next two decades, she completed several novels, which were repeatedly rejected by publishers and agents.
Despite collecting encouraging rejections, she persevered. "It took me another twenty years to get published," she said.
Her breakthrough came in 2003 with Astonishing Splashes of Colour. The novel follows Kitty, a woman coping with personal loss and an unusual ability to interpret emotions through colour. It was published by Tindal Street Press, a small Birmingham-based publisher, and was unexpectedly shortlisted for the Booker Prize.
Morrall later admitted that she had no idea the book had been submitted for the prize. The recognition brought sudden success, and the novel sold over 100,000 copies. Foreign rights were acquired in several countries, including Germany, the United States, and Italy.
After her debut, Morrall continued to write, producing novels such as Natural Flights of the Human Mind (2006), The Language of Others (2008), and The Man Who Disappeared (2010), which was selected for the TV Book Club's 2010 Summer Reads. Her later works include The Roundabout Man (2012), After the Bombing (2014) and When the Floods Came (2016).
The latter, set in a near-future Britain devastated by a virus, follows the Polanski family as they navigate isolation and survival in an abandoned city. Morrall describes it as "rooted in the world as we know it now" but informed by an imagined future. Her latest novel, The Last of the Greenwoods, was published in 2018.
Morrall's writing process evolved after the success of her debut. "After the Booker Prize, I was able to reduce some of my teaching hours," she said. This allowed her to establish a disciplined writing routine, starting early every morning before school.
Clare Morrall lives in Birmingham. She has two grown-up daughters.
Photo credit: mbalit.co.uk
years of life: 1952 – present
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