I write about histories of reading. Most of my writing thinks about why books matter — particularly in relation to love, grief, bereavement, and other kinds of loss. I’m currently researching the history and importance of libraries. I teach at the University of Oxford, and I’m a Fellow and Tutor at Lady Margaret Hall. I was proud to be a Baillie Gifford Prize judge in 2016 and a Wellcome Book Prize judge in 2018. Click on these links for my journalism and broadcasting
I’m represented by Peter Straus at Rogers, Coleridge and White
“Writer with multiple research interests, usually heading in one direction while looking in another”