Julie Holden’s novel, Down Came a Blackbird, was shortlisted for the inaugural Jenny Brown Associates Debut Writers Over 50 Award.

Julie is originally from Staffordshire and now lives in Suffolk. A psychological coach, she’s interested in narrative; the stories we tell ourselves and the impact this has on our lives. Down Came a Blackbird explores this – how do we know whether the stories we tell ourselves are true? Set in London and the Peak District, ghost-writer Sirena is driven to document her own life-story to escape the erasure of her existence after the death of her estranged adoptive mother.

Julie is curious about the liminal and exploring those themes in her psychological dramas – that space between life and death, the conscious and the unconscious, fact and fiction, and the general blurring of edges in an existence we like to pretend is known and controlled.

In its path to completion, Down Came a Blackbird has been longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize, Mslexia Novel Competition, Blue Pencil First Novel Award, and won 2nd Prize in Retreat West’s First Chapter Competition. Other work was awarded Joint Runner Up for the New Anglia Manuscript Prize, longlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and Mslexia Novel Competition.

A writer from a working-class background Julie was a finalist for the DHA Open Week for Underrepresented Writers, shortlisted for Greene & Heaton Greene Door, and Hachette’s Future Bookshelf, and longlisted for Penguin #WriteNow.

Twitter/X: @Julie_Holden

Julie is represented at Jenny Brown Associates by Lisa Highton. For all enquiries contact lisa@jennybrownassociates.com