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Clare Howdle

@clarehowdle

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Writer and ocean obsessive. Debut novel The Wreck Keeper out 2028 with @bloomsburybooksus and @manilla_press. Rep'd by @laurielitagent

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I am so excited we can finally talk about this! My debut novel The Wreck Keeper will be published in early 2028 by @bloomsburybooksus in the USA and @manilla_press in the UK with additional publishers internationally. It’s a total pinch me moment and a thrill to be working with the teams both sides of the pond. I’m so grateful to @laurielitagent and @pfdagents for making it happen.

Glittery jumpsuit dancing filmed a while ago when I was over in the Isles of Scilly, where the novel is set. I hoped it might come in useful one day/was manifesting to my fullest… #debutnovel #wreckdiving #womenandthesea #cornwall by @clarehowdle

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a month ago

COVER REVEAL. Too excited for words. Here’s first sight of the cover for my short story collection, ‘Hirethow’ – out in September with @hermitagepresscornwall . The title for the collection comes from the plural of the Cornish word, Hireth, which has no English equivalent but can be defined as a sense of loss and longing, infused with a yearning for place.

Each story in the collection explores what this word means through different characters’ experiences, set in contemporary Cornwall and an ever so slightly off-kilter reality, to reflect on how the world works.

The cover’s bold, punchy aesthetic feels like it perfectly captures the confrontation the stories bring – housed in something intriguing, deceptively bright, and ever so slightly tilted too. I love it. Thanks so much to @_boxymusic / @venncreative (no surprises there) for such brilliant work, to @adrianholmeswoodblock for the original artwork and to @hermitagepresscornwall as ever for your belief in and commitment to the collection. Pre-orders are AVAILABLE NOW. Woop. Link in bio. by @clarehowdle

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5 months ago

I cry at a lot of things, but gallery exhibitions not so much. Until this one. I was in London doing some research for a new writing project last week and while there, took in the Julio Le Parc exhibition at the @tate modern. It’s immersive, evocative, colour-filled and thought-provoking. But it’s the poem on exit that delivered the suckerpunch for me. This is just the tail end, for the rest head down there to experience it yourself. I implore you (music @rosalie_james words and visuals Julio Le Parc). by @clarehowdle

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9 days ago

A new experimental prose poem? Nope. Just my editing notes typed in haste on my phone. I’ve been recording chapters of The Wreck Keeper to listen to while running so I can edit on the go. The result? I’m making the most of my running time but have become truly sick of my own voice. Although there is a spin-off benefit I hadn’t realised… if you’re interested check out my Substack post to find out more (link in bio)… by @clarehowdle

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22 days ago

A joy to attend the book launch for @clareowenwriter last night, at the brilliant @barsilocornwall - what a spot! A great crowd, drinks, and enlightening conversation about care, butterflies and defying stereotypes of later life in fiction. Looking forward to diving in. Bravo @hermitagepresscornwall by @clarehowdle

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25 days ago

What a night. Such a joy launching Hirethow into the world with so many wonderful humans. Excellent interviewing from @wylmenmuir excellent negronis from @loveday_distilling and excellent excellent looking books thanks to @adrianholmeswoodblock and @venncreative - Hirethow is so striking, I love it and I hope readers feel the same way about what’s inside. Thanks as always to @hermitagepresscornwall and @thetrevaskis for making this collection what it is and to @zander_pots for the launch night footage and reel, you really captured its spirit. Fly, little book fly… by @clarehowdle

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a month ago

In my twenties, I went to Buenos Aires. My boyfriend’s (now husband’s) family are Argentinian and it was a chance to meet them and learn more about the worlds and lives that have shaped his. It was an incredible trip, and one I often think about in terms of the experience I had and how different it could have been if just a few interactions, decisions or feelings shifted a little to the left, or right. That’s where a lot of my stories come from. Those what-if moments that introduce an alternate element, conflict or reflection to explore. I often get asked if my stories are based on real life, and it’s hard to say no, as I think writers draw on real life in myriad ways to inform their fiction. But my stories are not me, or people I know. ‘Hirethow’ is however, full of what-ifs that have sprung from genuine moments and become something of their own. Where trees scream, walls swallow you whole and the ocean helps you breathe again.

I can’t wait to see the short story collection out in the world FROM SATURDAY on @hermitagepresscornwall, celebrate and launch it at @loveday_distilling in conversation with @wylmenmuir and hear how readers’ respond, perhaps with their own what-if reflections, that spring from mine... by @clarehowdle

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a month ago

Goodness. Had a brilliant time with @tjbooksltd this morning, watching this little beauty fly through the binding machine. Only one week out from launch now and they’re very nearly ready. Looking forward to drinking Hirethow in (literally) at @loveday_distilling with @wylmenmuir, the team from @hermitagepresscornwall and Cornwall’s creative and lit scene next week. It’s going to be gin-ny! (Sound on for full press-clunking ASMRic effect). by @clarehowdle

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2 months ago

A couple of years ago, we stayed in a cabin on the edge of the Halvana plantation on Bodmin moor. It was a beautiful, strange, bewitching place. Something about being deep in the trees felt like a dream. So I wrote a story about it, which is now one of my favourites in Hirethow - out in just over a week’s time with @hermitagepresscornwall. Full disclosure, this story was a beast to wrangle and pin down taking almost two whole years to write. Full props to @thetrevaskis in the final edits, for helping me see the (eh-hem) wood for the trees. by @clarehowdle

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2 months ago

“Have you read this? Oh my god, you must!” Has been the starting point of pretty much every conversation of mine this weekend. I picked it up from @falmouthlibrary on Friday afternoon knowing nothing about it (I love libraries for this) and finished it on Sunday morning. Like Revolutionary Road meets Mrs Dalloway seen through an Ann Patchett lens (or that might just be me, as I cannot get ‘Whistler’ out of my mind). Looking for a perfect summer read? Here you go. Oh and also libraries. Always libraries. by @clarehowdle

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2 months ago

I can’t believe it’s only three weeks until my first solo short story collection is released into the wild by the marvellous @hermitagepresscornwall. In the build up to launch I’m sharing quotes from stories featured in the collection - to hopefully whet your appetite and encourage you to seek it out. This week’s quote is from ‘Petrified’, originally highly commended for @the_masters_review a few years ago. It’s about a teenage boy who realises he can move through walls, for a price. Hirethow, out 5 September 2026. Preorder now - link in bio. by @clarehowdle

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2 months ago

What a treat to be handed this by my postie this morning. Huge congratulations to @aspier_mag on another beautiful issue. And seeing April June January on the printed page (and its characters on the cover - beautiful artwork by @elizabeth.loveday.art ) swelled my heart. Thank you. Leafing through the contents it looks like a stellar issue with no much to dive into. Make sure you pick up a copy before they sell out! by @clarehowdle

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3 months ago