Louisa Reid has spent most of her life reading. And when she’s not doing that she’s writing stories, or imagining writing them at least. An English teacher, her favourite part of the job is sharing her love of reading and writing with her pupils. Louisa lives with her family in the north-west of England and is proud to call a place near Manchester home.

Writing about themes important to young people, and all people in general, Louisa is drawn to writing about themes of empowerment and personal freedom. Louisa’s latest novels for young people have been in verse: Gloves Off , Wrecked and Activist(published by Guppy Books) and she’s fallen in love with the exhilarating, exciting challenges and opportunities that writing in this form brings. Her previous two novels Black Heart Blue and Lies Like Love, were published by Penguin.

Louisa is now writing for adults too. Her debut adult title, The Poet, published in hardback from Doubleday in 2022, and published in paperback in May 2023. The Poet is a critically acclaimed verse novel about young poet Emma’s toxic relationship with her former professor, Tom and explores themes of coercive control, class, privilege and female solidarity.

Praise for Gloves Off

‘Written with feeling, honesty and conviction, this is a story about body image and self-esteem that packs a knock-out punch.’ Sunday Times Children’s Book of the Week

‘Pride in your body, courage and self-belief – this is a knock-out’ i News’ Christmas 2019 best children’s and YA

‘Gloves Off is an intense, original and profoundly moving verse novel, filled with the fierce, hard joy of finding your power’ The Guardian

‘A poignant novel on body image, bullying and mental health’ The Bookseller

‘A beautiful, lyrical read. Buy it for your daughters – and your sons’ The Sun

‘Beautiful, brave and inspiring, Lil’s story will have you weeping one moment and cheering her on the next. I loved it.’ Lisa Williamson

‘Stunning… Gloves Off punches in the guts.’ Nicola Morgan

Praise for Wrecked

‘A profoundly moving story about truth and love’ Jenny Downham

‘Beautifully brutal and devastating’ Brian Conaghan

‘After reading Wrecked, I am the title. Ate it up in one gulp because I couldn’t look away. Tragic, compelling, real, and beautifully written.’ Teri Terry

Praise for Activist

“A raw, unflinching verse novel for 14+ filled with white-hot, justified rage” The Guardian

“There is disillusionment and frustration alongside the desire to improve the world, and an awareness that speaking up is often punished. Yet even if silence is more tempting, Reid reminds us, it is dangerous in its own way; “silence is / a sea of drowning / girls.” An angry, yet hopeful, call-to-arms.” The Irish Times

“Activist achieves the perfect balance between heartbreak and hope in a compulsive and beautifully written story. I want girls to read this, I want boys to read it. I want it to be required reading for teachers, heads and parents everywhere! * Teri Terry, author *
I devoured every word in an evening, the power of it resonating in my core. It left me trembling.” Kathryn Evans, YA author

“I cannot wait to get this incredible and inspiring book into the hands of young people. Louisa Reid writes with such poetic beauty and yet there is a raw power to the words too. Just stunning!” King’s Chester School Librarian 

“Powerful and passionate, Activist embraces the fury of young women who refuse to be silenced. An anthem to raising your voice, to standing your ground and to the friends who help you find hope where none seemed possible. Exquisite. * Amy Beashel, author *
Strong, heartfelt and oh so powerful…Louisa’s ability to play with language, to write so succinctly with such depth is wonderful.” Emma Perry, author

“Raw and heart-rending, inspirational and hopeful, Louisa Reid’s Activist is a beautiful, vital book with the power to help readers mend, make readers mad, and make readers rise. An empowering novel-in-verse about speaking up and refusing to be kept down by the individuals and institutions that perpetuate misogyny.” Lovereading

Praise for The Poet

“This is the book I have always needed, it […] everyone should read it.” Nikita Gill

“A beautiful, biting page-turner [which asks] is it any different for young women, these days? Reid’s novel provides — as the best fiction does — a nuanced, thought provoking answer to this question.” Irish Times

“Written in verse and wildly original, this passionate tale of coercive control and female solidarity is nothing short of a work of art.” Zoella

“We’ve never read anything quite like this before… the poetry sings so beautifully… you’ll be completely submerged” Cosmopolitan

“Brilliant and beautifully written. It’ll have you raging and rejoicing till the very last page.” Manjeet Mann, winner of the Costa Children’s Book Award 2021

“I devoured it both as a breath-taking, page-turning novel on betrayal and a series of startling poems, chiselled from bone. The Poet is going to e x p l o d e into 2022 and leave us all spilt and shuddering! Astounding book.” Helen Paris

“A novel in verse about poetry, female desire and achievement, gender politics and revenge, it weeps, rages and triumphs in words as exquisite as emotion. Loved it.” Julie Cohen

“A thunderstorm of female power with nods to the greatest poets of all time. Drop everything and read.” Ericka Waller

“Superb . . . Raw, angry and utterly compelling . . . The writing is stunning – I hope it’ll put verse novels on the map.” Hush – Five Unmissable Books for 2022

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