Stacey Nicole Halls(néeBartlett;born August 1989) is an English author of gothic historical fiction. Her debut novelThe Familiars(2019) became aSunday Timesbestseller and earned aBetty Trask Award.This was followed by further bestsellersThe Foundling(2020) andMrs England(2021). Halls won the 2022Women's PrizexGood HousekeepingFutures Award.
Stacey Halls | |
|---|---|
| Born | Stacey Nicole Bartlett August 1989 |
| Alma mater | |
| Years active | 2019–present |
| Spouse | Andy Halls |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | www |
Early life
editHalls grew up inRawtenstallin the valley ofRossendale,the daughter of market traders Eileen and Stuart Bartlett. She attendedBacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School.[1]After completing herA Levelsin 2007, Halls went directly into work as a legal secretary for sixth months before deciding to go to university, the first in her family to do so.[2]She went on to graduate from theUniversity of Central Lancashirewith a degree in journalism. Halls was named Most Promising Student Journalist of the Year (Undergraduate) at the 2012 PTC New Talent Awards.[3]
Career
editAfter graduating, Halls had jobs atThe Booksellerand as a sub-editor forFabulous,which she was obtained through university work placements and staying with her cousin in Surrey. In her magazine jobs, she noted being one of the only employees with a northern accent and not from a monied background.[2]Her first attempt at fiction writing, a contemporary novel, was unsuccessful. She took time off in early 2017 to hone in on her second attempt.[4]
Previously known by her maiden name Stacey Bartlett, in November 2017, Zaffre (aBonnier Booksimprint) won a nine-way auction to publish Halls' official debut novelThe Familiarsin February 2019.[5]The novel is based on thePendle witch trials.Production company The Bureau optioned the rights to adaptThe Familiarsfor television.[6]Debuting at #2[7]with 11 weeks onThe Sunday Timesbestseller list,[8]making it the bestselling debut hardback novel of 2019,[9][10]The Familiarsmade theRichard & Judy Book Clublist, received a 2020Betty Trask Award,[11]and was shortlisted for Debut Book of the Year at theBritish Book Awards.[12]
Initially set to reunite with Zaffre for her Georgian London-set sophomore novel,[13]The Foundlingbecame the inaugural publication of Manilla Press, a new Bonnier Books imprint launched in February 2020.[14]A #5Sunday Timesbestseller,[15]the novel was released under the titleThe Lost Orphanin the U.S. and Canada.[16][17]
Shortly after reaching 500 thousand sales between her first two novels,[18]Halls' thirdMrs Englandwas published in 2021 and opened at #4 onThe Sunday Timesbestseller list.[19]The novel follows an Edwardian children's nurse who moves from London to West Yorkshire, and combines elements from gothic novels such asRebeccaandJane Eyrewith elements from children's stories likeMary PoppinsandThe Railway Children.[20]Mrs Englandwas longlisted for the 2021Portico Prize[21]and the 2022Walter Scott Prize.[22]
Halls won the inaugural 2022Women's Prize for FictionxGood HousekeepingFutures Award.[10]
The Stacey Halls bursary, which gives aspiring working class northern writers access to Arvon writing courses, was established in 2023.[23]
In 2024, Halls reunited with Manilla Press for her fourth novelThe Household,[24]based on the true story ofCharles DickensandAngela Burdett-Coutts' Urania Cottage for homeless women.
Personal life
editHalls is married to journalist Andy Halls. They lived in London andHebden Bridge,Yorkshire[25]before moving to Oxfordshire.[26]She has a son.[27]
Bibliography
edit- The Familiars(2019)
- The Foundling(2020)(The Lost Orphanin some territories)
- Mrs England(2021)
- The Household(2024)
References
edit- ^Jacobs, Bill (29 January 2019)."Valley author's bewitching new book".Lancashire Telegraph.Retrieved31 August2024.
- ^ab"My Writing Living: Stacey Halls".Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).29 March 2021.Retrieved7 September2024.
- ^"PTC New Talent Awards – Winners announced".InPublishing.3 February 2012.Retrieved10 September2024.
- ^"Stacey Halls joins John Barnes, Jenny Bond and Delia Smith at this year's Bradford Literature Festival".The Yorkshire Post.19 June 2022.Retrieved7 September2024.(subscription required)
- ^Campbell, Lisa (17 November 2017)."Bonnier Zaffre wins Bartlett's 'page-turning' debut after nine-way auction".The Bookseller.Retrieved31 August2024.
- ^White, Peter (29 March 2019)."'Lean On Pete' Producer The Bureau Moves Into TV After Optioning Stacey Halls' Witch-Trial Novel 'The Familiars'".Deadline.Retrieved31 August2024.
- ^Wood, Heloise (9 March 2019)."Halls' next two books go to Zaffre with TV deal for The Familiars".The Bookseller.Retrieved12 September2024.
- ^"Stacey Halls".Mushens Entertainment.Retrieved13 September2024.
- ^Comerford, Ruth (14 October 2022)."Halls wins Women's Prize-backed public vote on top young female writers".The Bookseller.Retrieved12 September2024.
- ^abFinney, Joanne (14 October 2022)."Stacey Halls is our Futures award winner".Good Housekeeping.Retrieved29 August2024.
- ^Anderson, Porter (18 June 2020)."The UK's Society of Authors Names Winners of £100,000 in Awards".Publishing Perspectives.Retrieved12 September2024.
- ^Skelton, Val (20 March 2020)."British Book Awards: 2020 shortlists".Information Today Europe.Retrieved12 September2024.
- ^Chandler, Mark (30 May 2019)."Zaffre to publish second Halls novel in February".The Bookseller.Retrieved7 September2024.
- ^"Bonnier Books UK launches literary imprint Manilla Press".Bonnier Books UK.6 February 2024.Retrieved7 September2024.
- ^"The Foundling celebrates second week on Bestseller list".Mushens Entertainment.Retrieved13 September2024.
- ^Schneiderman, Jill (20 July 2020)."DIVINE Reads: The Lost Orphan by Stacey Halls".Divine.Retrieved8 September2024.
- ^Mendez, Anne (26 June 2020)."Review: The Lost Orphan by Stacey Halls".The Lit Bitch.Retrieved9 September2024.
- ^"Stacey Halls reaches 500k sales milestone with The Familiars and The Foundling".Mushens Entertainment.6 March 2021.Retrieved12 September2024.
- ^Hasty, Ashley (14 April 2021)."Book Feature - Mrs. England by Stacey Halls".Hasty Book List.Retrieved13 September2024.
- ^Macenulty, Trish (18 April 2022)."Stacey Halls Updates the Gothic Novel in Mrs. England".Historical Novel Society.Retrieved10 September2024.
- ^Anderson, Porter (28 September 2021)."'The Spirit of the North of England': The Portico Prize's Longlist ".Publishing Perspectives.Retrieved9 September2024.
- ^Wood, Heloise (7 February 2022)."Faulks and Halls battle it out on Walter Scott longlist".The Bookseller.Retrieved12 September2024.
- ^"Stacey Halls Bursary".Arvon.3 November 2023.Retrieved10 September2024.
- ^Brown, Lauren (20 July 2023)."Halls returns to Manilla Press with fourth novel".The Bookseller.Retrieved29 August2024.
- ^Halls, Stacey (16 February 2020)."Things You Only Know If You Live Apart From Your Husband".Grazia.Retrieved29 August2024.
- ^West, Zoe (28 December 2021)."In conversation with Stacey Halls".Woman & Home.Retrieved7 September2024.
- ^"Behind the books: author Stacey Halls".Martha Brook.23 April 2024.Retrieved7 September2024.