Blank Canvas

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 *
‘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 *
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 *
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 *
A campus novel painted with the most startling, profound hues. A portrait of queer love, loneliness and dark lies, Blank Canvas has a sharp, striking wit that cuts at the heart of what it means to be human ... An absolute triumph of a novel * Rupert Dastur, author of Cloudless *
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 *
Blank Canvas is a perceptive, witty and subversive exploration of honesty, relationships and identity. Grace Murray writes with such clarity and boldness achieving a refreshing, nuanced take on the campus novel * Ela Lee, author of Jaded *
I loved this brilliant debut, compelled by the spiky interiority of Charlotte, and her minute, cold observations of the world she disdains yet longs to join. This novel is astute and absorbing, whether in upstate New York, a riverbank in Italy, or Lichfield, at all times asking and answering the question: how far would you go to stop being lonely? Comic and acerbic, with moments of real warmth and sorrow, we are drawn into Charlotte's warped, misanthropic worldview and the tentative relationships she forms, and are eager to stay. I was enthralled; Grace Murray is one to watch * Emma van Straaten, author of This Immaculate Body *
A study in self-sabotage and yearning that crackles until it erupts, Blank Canvas follows a listless art student who constructs herself from lies. With prose alive to every sting and silence, Grace Murray exposes the longing beneath the performance, and the cost of connection built on deceit. A debut that lingers – acidic, funny, and painfully astute * Seth Insua, author of Human, Animal *
A superb debut ... Witty, assured ... Energisingly original ... Murray displays keen narrative instincts and a perfect ear for prose' * Guardian *