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Stef Penney Biography, Books, and Similar Authors

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Stef Penney

Stef Penney

Stef Penney Biography

Stef Penney was born and grew up in Edinburgh. After a degree in Philosophy and Theology she turned to film-making, studying Film and TV at Bournemouth College of Art. On graduation she was selected for the Carlton Television New Writers Scheme and has since written extensively for film and radio. Her first novel, The Tenderness of Wolves was named Costa Book of the Year 2006, and Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year 2008. It has been translated into 30 languages, and is a world-wide bestseller.

Stef lives in London.

Stef Penney's website

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Interview

In two separate interviews, Stef Penney discusses many aspects of her first two novels, The Tenderness of Wolves and The Invisible Ones, and in particular why she feels drawn to write about places and people that are far from her own life.

In two separate interviews Stef Penney discusses The Tenderness of Wolves and The Invisible Ones

Questions for Stef Penney from Tana French

I've never been a believer in the whole "write what you know" thing. I think it negates imagination and empathy, which are probably the two most crucial qualities for a writer, and I think it's especially pointless for mystery writers - what, you shouldn't write a murder mystery unless you've actually killed someone? But you go deeper into unknown territory than most, especially most in the crime genre. Is that a deliberate choice? Do you feel a pull toward exploring stuff that's very far from your own experience? Or is that just the way the ideas come up?

SP: I definitely do feel a pull toward people and places that are far from my own life. Whenever I pick up a book I think, "Tell me something I don't know." Because I work quite slowly, I have to keep myself interested over a long research and writing period. So I can't see myself writing about modern middle-class Londoners anytime soon. But, then, you never know . . .

You're one of the writers who stretch the conventions of the genre and that's one of the things I love about your ...

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Books by this Author

Books by Stef Penney at BookBrowse
The Beasts of Paris jacket The Invisible Ones jacket The Tenderness of Wolves jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Stef Penney but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Gil Adamson

    Gil Adamson

    Gil (Gillian) Adamson is the author of two books of poetry, Primitive (1991) and Ashland (2003), and a collection of short stories, Help Me, Jacques Cousteau (1995). The Outlander is her first novel and was 10 years in the... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Tenderness of Wolves

    Try:
    The Outlander
    by Gil Adamson

  • Eowyn Ivey

    Eowyn Ivey

    Eowyn LeMay Ivey was raised in Alaska and continues to live there with her husband and two daughters. She received her BA in journalism and minor in creative writing through the honors program at Western Washington University... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Tenderness of Wolves

    Try:
    The Snow Child
    by Eowyn Ivey

We recommend 7 similar authors

View all 7 Read-Alikes

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