Anna Hope

Anna Hope studied at Oxford University and RADA. She is the author of four novels.

Her powerful first novel, Wake (2014), sold to Transworld in a seven-way auction and has now been translated into over 20 languages. It was called ‘a masterclass in historical fiction’ by the Observer and shortlisted for New Writer of the Year at the National Book Awards in the UK.

The Ballroom, published in 2016, was selected for Richard and Judy’s Autumn promotion. In 2021, it was chosen by French booksellers as one of their top ten translated reads for the 90th anniversary of Gallimard imprint Du Monde Entier. It was a New York Times‘ Editor’s Pick.

Her third and first contemporary novel, Expectation, was published in July 2019 to rave reviews, scooping 7 ‘Best Read of 2019’ awards. It is currently being adapted for the screen by Clemence Poesy and Haut et Court films in Paris. Anna’s novel, chartering the dreams and disappointments of a group of East London women, is described by Pandora Sykes as ‘a brilliant exploration of friendship, feminism and thwarted ambition’.

Hope’s latest book, The White Rock, was published by Fig Tree as a lead hardback in August 2022. French rights sold to Le Bruit du Monde in a significant deal, German rights to Hanser Verlag, and Dutch rights to Ambo Anthos via Andrew Nurnberg Associates. The White Rock is an audacious, intimate, profoundly humane novel about four people across three centuries, set around the White Rock of San Blas off the coast of Mexico. In autumn 2022, the French translation of The White Rock was longlisted for the prestigious Prix Médicis étranger.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Greet