Imogen Hermes Gowar

She published her debut novel The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, winning a Betty Trask Award in 2019; it became shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

Gowar's great-grandmother was the engraver and sculptor Gertrude Hermes.

[1] Gowar studied archaeology, anthropology and art history at the University of East Anglia.

[2][1] She also worked as a barista in London prior to publishing her first book.

[1] In 2013, Gowar won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for a master's degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia.