Nicola Garrard
Author Nicola Garrard grew up in Devon, France and West Sussex. She studied English Literature at university and has taught in secondary schools since 1998, including 15 years at an inner-city London comprehensive and 4 years at an education referral project for excluded young people.
On the Edge is Nicola's third novel; her first two, 29 Locks and 21 Miles, were published by Hope Road Publishing . 29 Locks was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and the Mslexia Children’s Novel competition, and longlisted for the Branford Boase Award 2022 and the Berkshire Book Award. It was picked by Suzi Feay in the Financial Times as one of their ‘Best Books of 2021’.
Nicola has appeared at the Hay Festival of Literature and Arts, Chichester Festival and Petworth Festival Literary Week and on BBC Radio London. She gives regular talks for schools, libraries and colleges (including for World Book Day), as well as prisons. Her words and poetry have been published in The Frogmore Papers magazine, IRON Press Publishing, Mslexia magazine, The Guardian and the Writers & Artists Yearbook Guide to Getting Published, and by the Poetry Book Society.
She lives in West Sussex with her wife, three children and Little Bear, a Jack Russell terrier. Please get in touch for details about Nicola's school and festival events; we're always happy to hear about new opportunities to get her out in front of your students!