Agent
Assistant
Biography
Katie Bishop is a writer, journalist, and editor based in the Midlands. She has written for major publications such as the New York Times, the Guardian, Vogue, and many others. Her debut novel The Girls of Summer, pitched as upmarket reading-group fiction for fans of Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa (Fourth Estate) and Helen Walsh’s The Lemon Grove (Headline), explores themes of consent, power, and memory. The Girls of Summer is published by Transworld in the UK and St Martin’s Press in the US. Katie’s second novel, High Season, published in August 2025.
Praise for HIGH SEASON
‘High Season ripped me out of a reading slump as I found myself devouring this tale of privilege, loss, and the slippery nature of memory. The setting is so perfectly rendered that you can almost taste the saltwater, and the characters are so sensitively drawn I often had a knot in my stomach as I read late into the night. Bishop writes unbelievably beautifully about the complex relationships forged in youth, and the fragility of memory in the aftermath of tragedy.’ Ella Berman, author of The Comeback and Before We Were Innocent
‘True crime meets the Côte d’Azur in this layered, insightful novel that transcends its absorbing premise. Mystery and secrets abound at the Pink House, but it’s Katie Bishop’s vividly drawn characters and their web of entanglements that will keep you turning pages. High Season handles its themes deftly—about trauma and memory, class and girlhood, family and forgiveness—while also offering a nuanced critique of true crime voyeurism. Propulsive, escapist, and sharp.’ Emily Layden, author of Once More From the Top
‘Katie Bishop’s High Season will be the highlight of your summer reading. Bishop expertly ratchets up the tension in this intelligent and finely crafted thriller set in the fading glamour of a French Riviera town, making the reader feel every degree of the increasingly oppressive heat in along with her cast of well-drawn characters. The result is a novel that stays with you long after you’ve finished the last page.’ Lexie Elliott, author of Richard & Judy Book Club pick How to Kill Your Best Friend
‘I read this novel in three sittings. This author has such a clarity on young female friendships and class divide, which really added to the atmosphere.’ Prima
‘Stunning thriller.’ My Weekly
‘Katie Bishop’s sensitive novel reveals the impact of class on assumptions of guilt and innocent.’ The Times
‘With brilliant writing and a clever plot, this is a quality read.’ Fabulous
‘A dark, perfect summer read.’ That’s Life Monthly
‘A highly accomplished psychological thriller; deeply impressive.’ Saga Magazine
‘Katie Bishop finds heart and poignancy at the center of her artfully crafted thriller, High Season, setting it apart from other by-the-numbers beach reads.’ AP
‘We couldn’t put this thrilling novel down.’ Closer
‘The writing brilliantly creates the hedonistic atmosphere of the South of France and it’s an education in TikTok culture with a very unguessable outcome.’ Daily Mail
High Season (Transworld (UK) / St Martins Press (US), 2025)
In the heat of summer, the past can become hazy. . .
For twenty years, Nina Drayton has told herself that she must have seen her sister, Tamara, being murdered by the family babysitter – Josie Jackson. That she doesn’t remember it because she was five, and amnesia is a normal trauma response.
But now, with the anniversary of Tamara’s death approaching and true crime investigators revisiting the case, Nina finds it harder to suppress her doubts.
Returning to her family’s sparkling villa on the Cote d’Azur for the first time since the murder, she wants to uncover more about the summer that changed so many lives.
Because if she was wrong, then she sent an innocent woman to jail – and the real killer is still walking free.
Publications
Selected Publications
A compulsive and timely exploration of the complicated nature of memory and trauma, power and consent, victimhood and shame.
‘That place has been my whole life. Everything I thought I knew about myself was constructed in those few months I spent within touching distance of the sea. Everything I am is because Alistair loved me.’
Rachel has been in love with Alistair since she was seventeen. Even though she hasn’t seen him for sixteen years and she’s now married to someone else. Even though she was a teenager when they met. Even though he is twenty years older than her. She’s found it impossible to forget their summer together on a remote, sun-trapped Greek island. Until now.
When Rachel unexpectedly reconnects with a girl that she knew back then, she is forced to re-examine her memories of that golden summer and confront the truth about her relationship with Alistair and about her time working for an enigmatic and wealthy man on the island. And when Alistair returns, the pull of the past could prove impossible to resist…
