Kirsty Capes

Last updated
Kirsty Capes
Born1993
Chertsey, England
Alma mater
Years active2017–present

Kirsty Capes (born 1993) is an English contemporary novelist and publishing marketer. She is best known for her debut novel Careless (2021), written about the care system.

Contents

Early life

Capes was born in Chertsey, Surrey near Shepperton. [1] At age two, she and her older brother were placed in foster care and subsequently raised by the Capes family. [2] [3]

Capes attended Thamesmead School and completed her A Levels at Strode's College. [1] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Creative Writing in 2014, Master of Arts (MA) in 2015 and PhD in 2019, all from Brunel University London. Her PhD, written on "Marxist-feminist readings of contemporary fiction", [4] was supervised by Bernadine Evaristo. [5]

Career

Capes began her career working in marketing and publishing. She joined HarperCollins as a Marketing Manager in 2019 for the Mills & Boon imprint. [6]

Under the working title The Hatchling, as a 2017 WriteNow mentee and during her PhD, [7] Capes developed her debut novel, partly inspired by her own experiences in the care system. In 2020, Orion Publishing Group acquired the rights to publish Capes' debut novel titled Careless in 2021. [8] [9] Ahead of its publication, Neal Street Productions optioned the novel for adaptation. [10] Careless was longlisted for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction [11] and the Ondaatje Prize, [12] while the audiobook version was shortlisted for a British Book Award. [13]

Capes reunited with Orion for the publication of her second and third novels Love Me, Love Me Not in 2022 and Girls in 2024 respectively. [14] [15]

Personal life

Capes has spoken out against transphobia and other issues in the publishing and bookselling industry. [16] [17]

Bibliography

Novels

References

  1. 1 2 "Kirsty Capes". Sue Leonard. 18 June 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  2. "After I was taken off my birth parents, my foster carers became the family I needed". Metro. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  3. Sullivan, Anna (24 May 2021). "Meet Kirsty Capes – The Debut Author Shining A Light On The Care System". Grazia. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  4. "Kirsty Capes". Marx & Philosophy Review of Books. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  5. Afriye, Avalon. "Diving In with Kirsty Capes: Author of 'Love Me, Love Me Not' and 'Careless'". YouSwim. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  6. "Ep. 239: Kirsty Capes on Using Tips from Screenwriters to Write Novels". Rachel Herron. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  7. Campbell, Lisa (4 December 2017). "Next WriteNow mentees have stories that 'need to be told'". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  8. Cowdrey, Katherine (26 March 2020). "Orion bags 'achingly funny' debut from HarperCollins marketer". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  9. Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy (28 May 2021). "Careless by Kirsty Capes review – a rare new talent". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  10. Hackett, Tamsin (10 May 2021). "Capes debut snapped up by Call The Midwife producers". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  11. "Five minutes with Kirsty Capes". Women's Prize. 6 May 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  12. "2022 shortlist announced for Royal Society of Literature's Ondaatje Prize". West End Theatre. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  13. Waite-Taylor, Eva (2022-03-25). "The British Book Awards 2022 shortlist is in". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-05-21.
  14. Brown, Lauren (28 September 2023). "Orion Fiction signs 'searing' new novel from Capes". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  15. Kapur, Annie (5 August 2024). "Book Review: "Girls" by Kirsty Capes". Geeks. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  16. Chudy, Emily (25 June 2024). "Publishing industry slams new network". Pink News. Retrieved 23 April 2025.
  17. Perry, Sophie (10 July 2024). "Waterstones sacks TikTok influencer over post about 'binning' gender-critical author's book". Pink News. Retrieved 23 April 2025.