Louise Morrish is a historical novelist, creative writing tutor, and part-time bookseller at an independent bookshop. She writes for Penguin, Michael Joseph, and her debut novel Operation Moonlight won the Penguin Random House First Novel competition in 2019.  Her three published historical novels span both the First and Second World Wars, and she is currently working on two more novels, set in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Before becoming an author, Louise worked for almost thirty years as a librarian. She worked in public libraries in Surrey and Hampshire, catalogued private libraries in Surrey and London, and managed both primary and secondary school libraries, while her own children went through the education system. Throughout her library career, and now in her role as a bookseller, Louise employs the art of bibliotherapy, matching literature to readers’ specific preferences and emotional needs. Her knowledge of books, the publishing industry, and the British library system has given her a deep appreciation of novels, and the power of stories to resonate with readers.

In her role as a creative writing tutor, she particularly loves helping writers who are starting out. Her courses are renowned for their positive, nurturing, and inclusive nature. 

Louise has a special interest in women in the past who achieved extraordinary things, but whom history has forgotten. She likes to reimagine these women’s lives in her fiction, and also gives public talks on the women who have inspired her novels. 

If Louise were stranded on a desert island, the first historical novel she would want with her is Fingersmith by Sarah Waters, for its supremely clever plot twists, and its beautifully crafted characters. Waters’ novel is a perfect example of the unreliable narrator. The second would be The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue – one of Louise’s all-time favourite authors. Donoghue’s story of a nurse working in a maternity hospital in Dublin during the 1918 flu epidemic packs a powerful dose of hope and fear and love.