Lizzie Enfield has written three novels and had stories broadcast on Radio Four and published in various magazines and in an anthology of work selected by Hilary Mantel and Bonnie Greer.
She is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to national newspapers, magazines and radio. Lizzie also teaches for the Arvon Foundation, a handful of universities and runs workshops for public libraries and writing groups.
She has appeared on panels at literary festivals and is a regular performer at literary nights where she has been described as “a raconteur of the highest order, who ranks alongside the very best authors in the British tradition of subtle, self-deprecating humour.” Colin Grant, Producer and host Speakey Spokey.
Website and social media: http://lizzieenfield.com
Twitter: @lizzieenfield
Contact email: [email protected]
Bibliography:
Living With It (Myriad Editions) 2014
What Lies Beneath (KU Press 2015). A collection of short stories chosen by Hilary Mantel including Lizzie’s prizewinning The Catch.
Uncoupled (Headline) 2012
What You Don’t Know (Headline) 2011
1001 Book to Read Before You Die - contributing writer (Cassell) 2006
Go to Lizzie Enfield's Books on Amazon
Synopses of books:
Living With It
In the wake of the MMR vaccine scandal, a story of friendship and family which asks how we reconcile our responsibilities to our nearest with those to the wider world.
After holidaying in France with a group of old university friends, Isobel and Eric discover that Ben and Maggie's daughter, Iris, has been critically ill and is now permanently deaf. Isobel knows that her decision, taken years ago, not to have her own children vaccinated is to blame for Iris's deafness. And Ben knows this too. To make matters worse, Isobel is the woman he fell in love with in his twenties - the woman who married his best friend. As he and Maggie start legal proceedings against his ex lover and his best friend, Isobel's world begins to unravel as friendships, relationships and loyalties are all tested to the limit.
'A compulsively readable what-if story... Enfield brilliantly conveys how claustrophobic and trapped the four main characters feel as events spiral out of control... A surprising page-turner with an extraordinarily haunting conclusion.' - Mail on Sunday.
Uncoupled
A novel, which explores the fragility of the ties, which bind us together, and the randomness of life.
Holly is a mother with children, a husband she loves and a time-consuming job up in London. She copes, and life is good.
So when she is in a train accident on the London to Brighton line, Holly knows that it's just a small chapter in her life and nothing has changed. But Holly can't forget the younger man who comforted her in the chaos of the crash, and when she seems him again on her daily commute up to town, there's a flash of recognition between them. Is it embarrassment? Curiosity? Or is there something more? And what of Anne-Marie, another passenger who has survived? Just what is her story?
‘With realistic characters and unexpected twists, this novel explores how a moment can affect the strongest of bonds’ - Candis magazine.
What You Don’t Know
Brief Encounter for the modern age.
Happy home, lovely husband, two gorgeous children, and a job in the real world. Some would think that Helen Collins has it all, and certainly on paper, she's pretty cheerful about life. But in her head, it feels as if something is missing, and after fifteen years of sleeping with the same person, she’s wondering what it might be like to try someone else. So when plain, slightly balding Graham Parks walks into her office, ready to be cross-questioned about his latest book, Helen isn’t exactly expecting to fall for him. After all, he’s the exact opposite of her lean, good-looking husband, Alex, who woos women daily in his role as a TV soap character. Graham Parks isn’t even funny, either, which Alex most definitely is. Nevertheless, Helen finds herself pulled to the edge of something that may just turn her world upside down. And it’s exciting, alluring, all consuming. But is it worth giving everything she values up for?
'Wonderfully funny and warm but also thought-provoking, we loved this' - Closer
'A clever, witty read' - Best magazine
'For the Alison Pearson market and a sophisticated cut above the norm' - Bookseller
Lizzie Enfield is a lively and engaging speaker, at ease speaking on her own, as part of a panel discussion or chairing debates and conducting interviews. As a former BBC broadcaster and current creative writing and journalism lecturer, she is confident in front of a large crowd but equally able to foster an intimate and inclusive atmosphere in smaller group settings.
Her novels have dealt with parenting, the MMR controversy, autism, deafness, social responsibility, marriage, being an outsider, the randomness of life and acceptance.
Awards & Prizes:
2014 Runner Up in Bonnie Greer Stories to be Read Aloud competition.
Literary Festival Appearances:
Soho Literary Festival 2014
Voewood 2014
Northwich Literary Festival 2014
First Fictions 2014 and 2012
Dagenham Literary Festival 2012
If you are involved in this festival you can update or change details via the organisers page . Authors can list here.