Gloria Don't Speak

Lucy Apps

Lucy Apps is a British novelist and general practitioner who was born and raised in East London. Alongside her medical career, she volunteers with women with learning disabilities, an experience that informs her interest in the lives and perspectives of people whose voices are often overlooked. Her debut novel, Gloria Don’t Speak (2026), follows a young woman with a learning disability as she navigates friendship, independence, and vulnerability in working-class East London. Apps began writing the novel in 2017, drawing on her interest in portraying an adult woman whose experiences are rarely centred in fiction. Her sensitive approach to Gloria’s perspective has earned critical recognition, and the novel was longlisted for the 2026 Women’s Prize for Fiction. Apps has been praised for her empathetic storytelling and her exploration of autonomy, exploitation, and the need for human connection.

Published

2026

Author

Lucy Apps