Amanda Block
Originally from Devon, Amanda Block moved to Edinburgh in 2007, where she attained a master’s degree in creative writing. Her work is often inspired by myths and fairy tales, which she uses as starting points to tell new stories. Amanda’s writing has been shortlisted in contests such as the Bridport Prize and the Mslexia Short Story competition. Her debut novel, The Lost Storyteller (Hodder), was published in 2021 and was a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month. Her second novel, The Haunting of Hero’s Bay (Hodder) a story of art and smuggling set in 19th century Devon, was published in 2025.
Amanda lives in Edinburgh with her young family and is working on her third novel.
Amanda’s Instagram/Threads/BlueSky: @amandablockauthor
Amanda Block is represented at Jenny Brown Associates by Lisa Highton, For all enquiries contact lisa@jennybrownassociates.com
Books by Amanda
The Haunting of Hero’s Bay
Hodder 2025
The past will pull you under
1840: As a vast ship loses its way in the night-time mist, shattering against the cliffs of Crescombe, North Devon, a daring young artist dives into the murky sea. But it’s not for heroism he is risking it all: something – or someone – is drawing him into those dark, perilous waters . . .
Now: When Finley arrives in Crescombe for the summer, he suspects he’s not alone in his attic bedroom. Before long, he is uncovering secrets the remote seaside town has kept for almost two centuries: about ghosts and curses, about a ruthless old smuggling family, and about the young women whose bodies have washed up along the town’s rocky shoreline, just below his porthole window.
Yet the more Finley learns, the closer he’s bonded to those who have gone before him – and the closer he comes to meeting the same watery end…
‘The spirit of Daphne du Maurier is watching over this terrific novel’ Catriona McPherson
The Lost Storyteller
Hodder 2021
One forgotten book. Seven fairy tales. A lifetime of secrets.
Rebecca hasn’t seen her father Leo since she was six. Her family never talk about him, and she has long since pushed him to the back of her mind. But when a journalist turns up asking strange questions, Rebecca starts to wonder … looking for answers, she unearths a book of fairy tales written by Leo and dedicated to her.
Tentatively, Rebecca tries to piece together her father’s life, and her mind keeps returning to the fairy tales, which seem to contain more truth than make-believe. Are they key to unlocking the mystery of her father, the lost storyteller? Could they reveal who he was, what he went through – and even where he might be now…?
A powerful novel about the bond between fathers and daughters, and how stories connect us all. Jenny Colgan