St Mary's Alumna Publishes Debut Novel

Creative Writing Alumna Jess Kidd of St Mary’s University, Twickenham today publishes her debut novel Himself through Canongate. As part of a two-book deal with Canongate, Himself tells the story of Mahony, a loveable thief and Dublin charmer who was abandoned as a baby and returns to the place of his birth in search of answers about his mother. Jess graduated from St Mary’s MA in Creative Writing, before completing a PhD in the subject at St Mary’s. She was supervised and supported by St Mary’s lecturer and novelist Dr Russell Schechter. Speaking of her time at St Mary’s Russell said, “Jess’s remarkable talent was in evidence from day one. We learned new things from each other as the novel grew and came to life. I always believed she would be a star.” St Mary’s Creative Writing department welcomes applications for the Creative Writing MA: First Novel, taught by widely translated, award winning novelists.