About
Kit de Waal is a British-Irish novelist and short-story writer known for bringing the lives of ordinary people, working-class communities, and overlooked families to the centre of her fiction. Born in Birmingham to an Irish mother and a father from Saint Kitts, she grew up among the city’s Irish and Caribbean communities. Her multicultural upbringing and professional experience have shaped her interest in family, identity, social inequality, and the quiet resilience of people navigating difficult circumstances. Before becoming a full-time writer, de Waal spent fifteen years working in criminal and family law. She also served as a magistrate, sat on adoption panels, and advised social services on foster care. This work gave her insight into the complexities of family life, the care system, and the circumstances that can bring people together or force them apart—subjects that frequently appear in her writing. Beyond her fiction, de Waal is an advocate for greater diversity and working-class representation in publishing. She established the Kit de Waal Scholarship at Birkbeck in 2016 to support aspiring writers who might otherwise struggle to access creative-writing education. She also co-founded the Primadonna Festival and Big Book Weekend, initiatives designed to make literature and the arts more accessible. Through her writing and advocacy, she continues to champion stories that explore how people survive hardship and find connection, dignity, and hope.
