ABOUT AJ
AJ Pearce was born in Hampshire, UK. Her favourite subjects at school were English and History, which now (finally) makes sense.
She majored in American History at the University of Sussex, spending her Junior Year at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA.
In 2018 her debut novel Dear Mrs Bird was a Sunday Times Bestseller. It has been published in the USA, Canada and Australia and in translation in over fifteen languages. A Richard and Judy Bookclub pick, it was shortlisted for the British Book Awards Debut of the Year and the Historical Writers’ Association Debut Crown for best historical debut.
Her second novel, the sequel Yours Cheerfully, was published in 2021 and was a Times Top 10 hit. Her latest novel, Mrs Porter Calling is the third in The Emmy Lake Chronicles series and is now available in all formats in the UK, Eire, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The final book in the series will be published in hardback, ebook and audio in 2025, and then in paperback in 2026.
AJ has appeared at bookshops, literary events and festivals across the UK, including The Persephone Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival, Henley, Chipping Norton, Durham and Guildford, and headlined events at The Imperial War Museum and The British Library. She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Open Book and Saturday Live, as well Radio 4’s Book Club in conversation with James Naughtie and readers about Dear Mrs Bird.
When not talking about, researching, or writing books, AJ enjoys being fairly rubbish at a variety of hobbies, and has recently started to learn to paint. It’s not gone well, but she has some lovely tins of watercolours which is the main thing.
If you’d like to keep up with what AJ is up to, please scroll down to sign up for her newsletter via the form at the foot of this page.
You can also find her on Instagram, Facebook and Threads when should she be writing.
PS: Many thanks to Jenny Smith Photography for permission to use the picture of me here. Even bigger thanks to Ginetta George and all the team at Detail Design Consultants who designed this website. I can’t recommend them highly enough!
