Maddie Mortimer

Maddie Mortimer (born 1996) is a British novelist.

Writing

Mortimer has described her first novel, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies, as "an elegy to my mum and to our relationship". Mortimer's mother died of cancer in 2010 and the book focuses on a fictional woman called Lia who has a "shapeshifting cancer inside her body. Moving between Lia’s past and present, the book is a look at memory, mother-daughter relationships, and coming to terms with death". Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies won the 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize, which is awarded for a debut novel published in the UK or Ireland. It was also shortlisted for the 2022 Goldsmiths Prize and longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize.

Personal life

Mortimer studied English Literature at the University of Bristol, and has worked in marketing and as a screenwriter. Her mother was the writer and filmmaker Katie Pearson.

Selected publications

• Mortimer, Maddie (2022). Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies. London: Picador. ISBN 978-1529069365.

Awards

• Desmond Elliott Prize in 2022
• Shortlisted for Goldsmiths Prize in 2022
• Longlisted for 2022 Booker Prize