Author guide

Catriona Ward Books in Order

Catriona Ward was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco. She studied English at the University of Oxford and earned an MA in creative writing from the University of East Anglia. Her novels combine gothic horror, psychological suspense, literary experimentation, and thriller elements. Ward has won the August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel three times; Little Eve also won the Shirley Jackson Award, and Sundial won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Novel.

horrorgothic fictionpsychological thrillerliterary thriller

Catalog record updated August 25, 2026.

Catriona Ward's Newest Book

Nowhere Burning

novel · First published 2026

Riley and her brother Oliver set off in the pitch-black night, fleeing their troubled home. They are heading for Nowhere—an abandoned ranch, once the playground of its former eccentric movie-star owner, now a haven for runaways. What awaits could be the freedom they crave. But this mysterious clan guards dark secrets, and the scorched grounds hold the ghosts of the past. Riley quickly realizes that while she and Oliver may have escaped the devil they knew, something darker lurks in the burnt shell of Nowhere. Something which asks a terrible price for sanctuary… Nowhere Burning is a harrowing tale of survival that places the dark fairy tale of Peter Pan and the ruthless dangers of Lord of the Flies into the unforgiving maw of the Colorado Rockies.

Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Rawblood

Ward's debut novel and first published book.

Outside the series

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Novels (6)

Rawblood
novel · 2015

She comes in the night. She looks into your eyes. One by one, she has taken us all. For generations they have died young, and now fifteen-year-old Iris and her father are the last of the Villarca line. Confined to their lonely mansion on…
Little Eve
novel · 2018

Winner of the Shirley Jackson Award for best novel and the August Derleth Prize for best horror novel, Catriona Ward's Little Eve is a heart-pounding literary gothic with a devastating twist. Eve and Dinah are everything to one another,…
The Last House on Needless Street
novel · 2021

In a boarded-up house on a dead-end street at the edge of the wild Washington woods lives a family of three. A teenage girl who isn’t allowed outside, not after last time. A man who drinks alone in front of his TV, trying to ignore the…
Sundial
novel · 2022

“DO NOT MISS THIS BOOK. Authentically terrifying.” —Stephen King A Bram Stoker Award nominee • LibraryReads Top 10 Pick • A GoodReads Choice Award Finalist for Best Horror • Starred review from Publishers Weekly! Sharp as a snakebite,…
Looking Glass Sound
novel · 2023

The author of The Last House on Needless Street, Catriona Ward, delivers a masterful story about friendship and betrayal, dark obsessions, and the impossibility of escaping your own story. "Here's your next obsession." (Kelly Link, author…
Nowhere Burning
novel · 2026

Riley and her brother Oliver set off in the pitch-black night, fleeing their troubled home. They are heading for Nowhere—an abandoned ranch, once the playground of its former eccentric movie-star owner, now a haven for runaways. What…

Frequently asked questions about Catriona Ward

Who is Catriona Ward?

Catriona Ward is an American-born British author known for gothic horror, psychological suspense, and literary thrillers.

Source: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)

Is Catriona Ward American or British?

She is American-born and British. Ward was born in Washington, D.C., to English parents and grew up in the United States, Kenya, Madagascar, Yemen, and Morocco.

Sources: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)bedales.org.uk (opens in a new tab)

What did Catriona Ward do before becoming a novelist?

Ward studied English at Oxford and earned a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia. She also pursued acting before turning fully to writing.

Sources: hachette.co.uk (opens in a new tab)theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)

What influences Catriona Ward’s horror writing?

Ward has cited Stephen King and W. W. Jacobs’s “The Monkey’s Paw” as formative reading. She also draws on gothic conventions and detective fiction, using horror to explore trauma, gender, and social fears.

Sources: theguardian.com (opens in a new tab)publishersweekly.com (opens in a new tab)

What awards has Catriona Ward won?

Ward is a three-time winner of the British Fantasy Award’s August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. Little Eve also won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel, and Sundial won the International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel.

Sources: us.macmillan.com (opens in a new tab)shirleyjacksonawards.org (opens in a new tab)thrillerwriters.org (opens in a new tab)