Helen Simpson

Helen Simpson is an English novelist and short story writer known for her sharp wit and keen observations of contemporary life. Born in Bristol in 1959, she began her career working at Vogue before transitioning to full-time writing after the success of her debut collection, "Four Bare Legs in a Bed and Other Stories," which earned her the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award. Her critically acclaimed work "Hey Yeah Right Get a Life," a series of interlinked stories, further solidified her reputation, winning the prestigious Hawthornden Prize.

Simpson's writing often explores themes of domesticity, gender roles, and the complexities of modern relationships with a distinctive blend of humor and poignancy. Recognized as one of Granta's top 20 novelists under 40 in 1993, she has contributed to notable projects such as Oxfam's "Ox-Tales," where her short story "The Tipping Point" was featured in the "Air" anthology. Her concise yet evocative prose continues to resonate with readers, cementing her place as a significant voice in contemporary British literature.
Standalone Novels
# Title Year
1 Flesh and Grass 1990
Short Story Collections
# Title Year
1 Dear George And Other Stories 1990
2 Four Bare Legs in a Bed 1991
3 Hey Yeah Right Get a Life 2000
4 Constitutional 2005
5 In-Flight Entertainment 2010
6 A Bunch of Fives 2012
7 Cockfosters 2015
Cookbooks, Food & Wine
# Title Year
1 The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea 1986
Non-Fiction Books
# Title Year
1 The London Ritz Book of English Breakfasts 1988
Vintage Minis Books
# Title Year
1 Motherhood 2017
2 Love (By: Jeanette Winterson) 2017
3 Eating (By: Nigella Lawson) 2017
4 Psychedelics (By: Aldous Huxley) 2017
Helen Simpson Anthologies
# Title Year
1 Soho Square 1993
2 Great Modern Stories 2009
3 Short Stories: The Thoroughly Modern Collection 2009
4 The Grist Anthology of New Writing 2009
5 Stories to Get You Through the Night 2010
6 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2011 2011
7 Granta 115: The F Word 2011
8 I'm With the Bears 2011
9 Freeman's: Arrival 2015