Chloe Michelle Howarth
Chloe Michelle Howarth | |
|---|---|
_at_Irish_Writers%27_Weekend_2024.png) At the British Library's Irish Writers' Weekend in 2024 | |
| Born | July 1996 (age 28) |
| Alma mater | IADT |
| Years active | 2022–present |
| Website | www |
Chloe Michelle Howarth (born July 1996) is an Irish novelist based in Brighton. Her debut novel Sunburn (2023) was shortlisted for a number of accolades.
Early life
[edit]Howarth grew up in Rosscarbery, County Cork with her two brothers.[1] She graduated from the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology.[2]
Career
[edit]At the end of 2022, Verve Books acquired the rights to publish Howarth's debut novel Sunburn in 2023.[3] Howarth came up with the idea at the end of 2019 and began writing it at her family's house during the COVID-19 lockdown.[4] Set in a fictional Cork village amid the 1993 decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland, the novel follows the clandestine relationship between characters Lucy and Susannah from 1989.[5][6] Sunburn was shortlisted for a Nero Book Award in the Debut Fiction category,[7] Discover Book of the Year at the British Book Awards[8] and the Polari First Book Prize.[9] It was also a runner-up for the adult Readers' Choice award at the Diverse Book Awards.[10]
Howarth reunited with Verve Books for the publication of her second 1960s-set Gothic novel Heap Earth Upon It in 2025.[11]
Personal life
[edit]Howarth is bisexual.[12] She moved to Brighton after the COVID-19 lockdown.[11]
Bibliography
[edit]- Sunburn (2023)
- Heap Earth Upon It (2025)
Accolades
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Title | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Nero Book Awards | Debut Fiction | Sunburn | Shortlisted | [7] |
| 2024 | British Book Awards | Discover Book of the Year | Shortlisted | [8] | |
| Polari First Book Prize | Shortlisted | [9] | |||
| Diverse Book Awards | Readers' Choice – Adult | Runner-up | [10] | ||
References
[edit]- ^ O'Dwyer, Eimear (17 August 2023). "Lockdown notes inspired Rosscarbery writer's debut". Southern Star. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ "Cork writer up for British Book Awards: 'I don't want to shy away from my Irishness'". Echo. 10 May 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Fraser, Katie (6 December 2022). "Verve Books nets Howarth's 'visceral' debut". The Bookseller. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Howarth, Chloe Michelle (30 October 2024). "Queer Storytelling by Chloe Michelle Howarth". Writing.ie. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Marshall, Alice (9 August 2024). "Sunburn, Chloe Michelle Howarth". nb. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ Goudsmit, Kyra (29 October 2024). "On the Crimson Intensity of a Secret First Love: A Review of Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth". Berkeley Fiction Review. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ a b "Chloe Michelle Howarth - Sunburn". Nero Book Awards. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
- ^ a b Anderson, Porter (8 March 2024). "British Book Awards: 2024 Books of the Year Shortlists". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Chloe Michelle Howarth Shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize". Writing.ie. 2 October 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
- ^ a b "2024 Diverse Award Winners Announced". School Library Association. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2025.
- ^ a b Tivnan, Tom (22 May 2025). "Chloe Michelle Howarth follows her lauded debut with a Gothic tale of sapphic obsession". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ Coffey, Edel (16 December 2023). "Chloe Michelle Howarth: As a young teenager I didn't know I was queer and had that why am I one degree away from everyone else?' feeling". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 April 2025.