Blank Canvas
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Published:15th Jan '26
Should be back in stock very soon
'Superb ... Witty, assured, energisingly original' GUARDIAN
'Razor-edged and emotionally rich ... Exquisite' LUCY ROSE, AUTHOR OF THE LAMB
'A literary star in the making' MARIE CLAIRE
***
Introducing an outstanding new voice in literary fiction: a sensual, sharp, and utterly compelling campus novel about grief, reinvention, and the ripple effects of telling lies
If I ever woke up with an ungodly dread — that I could change it all now, turn around, and confess — I ignored it. I had never been good, and there was no point in trying now.
On a small liberal arts campus in upstate New York, Charlotte begins her final year with a lie. Her father died over the summer, she says. Heart attack. Very sudden.
Charlotte had never been close with her classmates but as she repeats her tale, their expressions soften into kindness. And so she learns there are things worth lying for: attention, affection, and, as she embarks on a relationship with fellow student Katarina, even love. All she needs to do is keep control of the threads that hold her lie – and her life – together.
But six thousand miles away, alone in the grey two-up-two-down Staffordshire terrace she grew up in, her father is very much alive, watching television and drinking beer. Charlotte has always kept difficult truths at arm’s length, but his resolve to visit his distant daughter might just be the one thing she can’t control.
‘The kind of interior voice that ensnares you … The art college campus novel I’ve always wanted.... Grace Murray is one of those writers who you can devote yourself to' CLAIRE KOHDA, AUTHOR OF WOMAN, EATING
A superb debut ... Witty, assured ... Energisingly original ... Murray displays keen narrative instincts and a perfect ear for prose * Guardian *
Blank Canvas is razor-edged and emotionally rich, an unflinching portrait of identity and loneliness. Grace Murray’s prose navigates the desperation of loneliness and selfhood with exquisite depth, rendering even the quietest moments astonishing and haunting * Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb *
Striking ... The slender plot is a slow burn of inevitable doom...First love, with its losses, pains and joys, is tenderly painted * Financial Times *
Fantastically engaging, the kind of interior voice that ensnares you … Brilliantly and satisfyingly off-key and absurd, with a vein of tragedy running through it, it’s the art college campus novel I’ve always wanted. Grace is such an astute observer of people (especially artists) and a sharp, bright and hilarious writer. I can’t wait to see what she goes on to write next. She’s one of those writers who you can devote yourself to. I’m along for the ride of her whole career * Claire Kohda, author of Woman, Eating *
A touchingly tender coming-of-age tale that feels nuanced and real ... It's safe to say we have a literary star in the making * Marie Claire, Best New Books in February 2026, Editor's Pick *
Slick with spite, desire and intrigue, this is an exceptional debut. Charlotte is audacious and addictive. You'll race through it, breath held, skin prickling * Celia Silvani, author of Baby Teeth *
The sharpest, meanest of prose in the best possible way. An outstanding debut from author to watch * Heather Darwent, author of The Things We Do To Our Friends *
There is plenty to enjoy in this punchy read, sprinkled with dry wit ... Her raw talent is certainly there, particularly her ability to enter an unfamiliar mind and make it familiar. It is a joy to watch Charlotte transform under Katarina’s careful attention * The Times *
One of the best debuts I’ve read this year ... I read the whole thing in one sitting, so enmeshed in Charlotte’s life and lies that I simply couldn’t leave her. A character eliciting the level of frustration and sympathy that Charlotte does in a reader is a mark of truly impressive writing. The middle act, set in Italy, floored me. Murray’s writing moves between a New York campus, a terraced house in Lichfield and a workaway trip in Italy with the ease of a writer unencumbered – each setting, each relationship, and each conversation felt real, as if they were being recounted to the reader from memory. Grace Murray is a writer to watch * Jodie Matthews, author of Meet Me At The Surface *
Witty, current ... The novel doesn’t shy away from questioning how far the bounds of familial love and loyalty can go, and this is where it really shines * Irish Times *
ISBN: 9780241767306
Dimensions: 216mm x 137mm x 24mm
Weight: 294g
288 pages