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Hannah Richell

@hannahrichell

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An Ocean And A Day: memoir out now. Author of six novels. Writing, books, walks, kids, family, grief, love. Forever torn between 🇬🇧 & 🇦🇺

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An Ocean and a Day: a memoir of love, loss and the moments that make a lifetime.
ANZ : 30 June
UK: 27 August
Pre-order links in bio.

@bedfordsq.publishers
@harpercollinsaustralia by @hannahrichell

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4 months ago

INTRO PART 2, to answer some of the questions, comments and DMs I received on my last intro post. ❤️ by @hannahrichell

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4 months ago

If you’re new here, here’s a little post about me and my books … 📚

Drop a question below and I’ll happily answer. ⬇️ by @hannahrichell

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4 months ago

Really looking forward to chatting this weekend with @thisisjessmills and @leahboleto about love and grief. Jess’s book about losing her mother while becoming a mother is stunning. So much to talk about. If you are anywhere near Henley on Saturday, do come!

Henley Literary Festival
Saturday 10th October, 12pm

Ticket link in my bio.
@henleylitfest by @hannahrichell

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How can writing hold us up when grief pulls us under?

@hannahrichell’s memoir, An Ocean and a Day, traces the sudden loss of her husband and the writing that helped her navigate a transformed world. Meanwhile, @sophie_dumont’s poetry collection, Sculling, explores the death of her canoe coach and partner, weaving together an exploration of rivers, bodies, organ donation and the ways loss continues to ripple through a life.

In conversation with Good Grief Festival Co-Director Dr @leseldawson, they’ll reflect on how writing can carry us through the most challenging times, offering new ways of understanding love, loss and the landscapes that shape us.

🕣 4.30pm-5.30pm
📍Good Grief Fesival Tent, Italian Gardens, Weston-super-Mare
🎟️ Free! Book through the link in @sophie_dumont’s bio.

About the writers and their books:

Hannah Richell – An Ocean and a Day (2026)
In 2005, Matt and Hannah Richell moved from London to Sydney, building a life together with two young children. By 2014, Matt was CEO of a publishing house and Hannah a successful novelist – then, that July, Matt died in a surfing accident on Tamarama Beach. In the aftermath, Hannah set aside the novel she had been writing and began writing purely for herself, trying to make sense of an unrecognisable world. An Ocean and a Day is her account of losing Matt: a story of grief, but also of love, family and hope.

Sophie Dumont – Sculling (2025)
In this unflinching, tender collection, poet Sophie Dumont explores her relationship with the River Avon and the losses that have shaped her life. At sixteen, she trained as a canoe coach; three years later, her coach and partner died suddenly in a road accident, and five of his organs went on to save or transform at least seven lives. Using the kayak as a metaphor for navigating loss, Sophie reflects on bodies of water, river pollution, and the growing campaign for rivers’ personhood status, tracing how a presence can reverberate even in its absence. Shortlisted for the Jerwood Prize 2026, the collection has been praised by Philip Gross for its assured, richly woven reflections on place, family and language, carried by the steady pull of personal story. taken in Weston-super-Mare by @hannahrichell

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18 days ago

1022 entries. 24 longlisted writers. Congratulations to those who made it onto this year’s list. It’s a wonderful achievement. The judges and I can’t wait to read your words.

If you didn’t make it with your entry this year, please do not give up hope. Prizes are a tiny (and subjective) part of the writing industry. No Prize or judging process should dim your creativity or the joy you find in weaving your words. More and more these days, I believe we should be sharing our stories with each other, reading and listening to each other, revealing and revelling in our humanness. So please keep going. Explore other paths to discovery (if that is what you dream of), re-enter next year, but most of all, keep writing and keep dreaming.

As Anita Solek from the EWF so beautifully said, ‘May we all one day be lucky enough to read the books that you have dreamed of and brought to life.’

The full longlist is at the link in my bio.

#richellprize #therichellprize by @hannahrichell

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19 days ago

Two small fragments from my jewellery box that at face value look like rubbish. But if you’ve read An Ocean and a Day, you might know the moments and emotions they represent.
💙 🌊 by @hannahrichell

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23 days ago

A reflection on a moment from my event with Donna Ashworth at Edinburgh Literary Festival three weeks ago.
I’m a writer, but I don’t always find the right words.
I wonder if this will find the young woman I am thinking of. 🤍

#grief
#griefjourney by @hannahrichell

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24 days ago

It’s just been brought to my attention that there has been a delay to the Richell Prize longlist announcement. Due to the volume of entries, I’m told the longlist will now be released on Friday 18 September. I’m so sorry if this has not been communicated to you. I wish you all the best of luck.
Hannah x by @hannahrichell

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25 days ago

My heart is bursting after a beautiful evening @bookbaruk to celebrate An Ocean and a Day with some wonderful humans. So many gorgeous faces from both mine and Matt’s London days. Standing there in the book-lined room, surrounded by old friends, I felt the past and present concertina to meet in one golden moment. Thank you to those who could make it. (So sorry to those who couldn’t due to airport and tube chaos. 😢) I’m so deeply touched by the efforts you went to (and delighted that we ran out of books last night). I only wish I’d snapped a few pics. A night of deep emotion, pure gratitude, and a lingering sense that Matt was somehow not that far away in the magic of it all. ✨ by @hannahrichell

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a month ago

A few autumn events coming up… the first in Bath on Thursday 17th September at beautiful @mrbsemporium, which is worth a visit simply to mooch among their wonderfully curated shelves. Details in my bio. Hope to see you there x ❤️ by @hannahrichell

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