Anna Mazzola | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anna Sarah Mazzola July 1978 Croydon, London, England |
| Other names | Anna Sharpe |
| Alma mater | |
| Years active | 2014–present |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | annamazzola |
Anna Sarah Mazzola (born July 1978) is an English author and lawyer best known for writing historical crime fiction. Her debut novel The Unseeing (2016) won an Edgar Award. She also writes legal thrillers under the name Anna Sharpe.
Mazzola is from Croydon, Greater London and attended Croydon High School. [1] Her father was born in Palermo and grew up in Naples before moving to England. [2] Mazzola graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English from Pembroke College, Oxford [3] and a Postgraduate Diploma and LPC from the University of Law. [4] She later enrolled in the Novel Studio at City, University of London. [5]
Mazzola began writing short stories while on maternity leave. She continued to work for the law firm Bindmans as she pursued writing professionally, later moving to Birnbergs and CWJ. [6] Ahead of the publication of her debut novel, Mazzola was a runner-up in the 2014 Grazia first chapter competition and the Brixton Bookjam Debut Novel competition. In a 2015 auction and a two-book deal, Tinder Press (a Headline Publishing Group imprint) won the rights to publisher Mazzola's debut novel The Unseeing in summer 2016. [7] The novel is based on the 1837 murder of Hannah Brown by James Greenacre, also known as the Edgware Road murder, and the life of Sarah Gale. [8] [9] The Unseeing won an Edgar Allen Poe Award and was shortlisted for the Historical Writers' Association's Debut Crown.
The second novel in Mazzola's deal with Tinder Press, titled The Story Keeper, followed in 2018. [10] Set on the Isle of Skye in 1857, the novel is inspired by Gaelic folklore. [11] The Story Keeper was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize.
In 2020, Mazzola moved to Orion Publishing Group in 2020, [12] through which she published her third novel The Clockwork Girl in 2022. The novel is set in 1750 Paris and features the class divide of pre-Revolutionary France. The Clockwork Girl was shortlisted for the Gold Dagger and the Historical Dagger at the 2023 Crime Writers Association (CWA) Dagger Awards.
Mazzola's next gothic novel The House of Whispers was published in 2023, set in 1938 Rome as the rise of fascism threatens a piano teacher and her friends. [13] [14] The House of Whispers won the Fingerprint Award at the Capital Crime Festival. Antonia Senior and Nick Rennison of The Sunday Times named The House of Whispers one of the twelve best historical fiction novels of 2023. [15]
That same year, Orion acquired two further novels from Mazzola, including the gothic novel The Book Keeper, published in February 2024. [16] Set in 17th-century Rome, the novel is based on the real life Gironima Spana case. In March 2024, The Book Keeper featured on The Sunday Times list of new historical fiction. [17]
As announced in 2022, Orion also acquired the rights to publish two legal thriller novels under Mazzola's pseudonym Anna Sharpe. [18] The first of these was Notes on a Drowning in 2025, which the author based on her own experiences working as a lawyer. The second is Lie for Your Life in 2026. [6]
Mazzola lives in Camberwell with her husband and their two children.
| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Historical Writers Association (HWA) Awards | Debut Crown | The Unseeing | Longlisted | [19] |
| 2018 | Edgar Awards | Best Paperback Original | Won | [20] | |
| Highland Book Prize | The Story Keeper | Longlisted | [21] | ||
| 2023 | Dublin Literary Award | The Clockwork Girl | Longlisted | [22] | |
| Crime Writers Association (CWA) Awards | Gold Dagger | Shortlisted | [23] | ||
| Historical Dagger | Shortlisted | ||||
| 2024 | Fingerprint Awards | Historical Crime Book of the Year | The House of Whispers | Won | [24] |