Eliza Clark on Identity, Isolation, and Her Upcoming Collection – interview

Eliza Clark. Image credit: Robin Silas Christian

Eliza Clark is a writer from Newcastle, who this year released third novel, ‘She’s Always Hungry’. TSOTA contributor isaac e.j. spoke to Eliza about her new book and her career so far.

Eliza Clark is a self-described “overhyped” author to two award-winning novels, Boy Parts (2020) and Penance (2023). In 2022, Clark was named as a finalist for the Women’s Prize Futures Award for writers under thirty-five and just one year later, she was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. Beloved for her sharp wit, relevant social criticisms and focus on dark themes, I was delighted to chat with Clark before the release of her highly anticipated short story collection, She’s Always Hungry (2024). 

We began our conversation by discussing what Clark’s Northern identity means to her. Born and bred in Newcastle, Clark explained to me that she is always carrying her Northern identity with her in some way, whether that be in how she speaks or how she relates to the creative industries. She shared her frustrations with feeling cut off from the rest of the country; despite being geographically closer to Scotland, Clark explained how Scotland has its own funding bodies and systems which leads creative people from the Northeast feeling a sense of cultural isolation.

Clark spent her childhood between Newcastle and Essex. She stated that she experienced and observed resistance to Northern artists speaking on the limitations they face in arts access. She described the knee-jerk reaction that the contemporary creative industries seem to have to “white, middle-class Northerners” who explain their frustrations with the industry: these complaints are rendered futile for the complainers being primarily white and middle-class. 

Clark explained how centering a story in the North allows her a unique point of view, at least when compared to most mainstream authors. This helps break new ground, as a lot of fiction is featured in London, and her writing speaks to Northern readers who have not been represented in fiction before. I echoed Clark’s sentiment here, referring to her 2023 novel Penance which references Scarborough and Whitby, seaside towns that I have intimate memories of. Clark gushed about the freedom of an open environment in writing speculative fiction and the enjoyment she gets from telling individual economic stories.

Clark’s debut, Boy Parts, is a horror novel that follows the story of a young Newcastle-born photographer, Irina, and her struggles to be taken seriously as a woman but also as a Northern artist. Clark revealed that much of Irina’s frustration was autobiographical. Prior to writing Boy Parts, Clark moved from Newcastle to London to study an undergraduate degree at Chelsea College of Arts. She shared how ostracised she felt from her peers from the start of her degree – as well as missing out on the UAL Foundation year that many of her classmates knew each other from, Clark was enrolled in the first year of increased University fees, which coupled with the rampant culture shock she experienced to create a very isolating experience. She made very few friends during her degree, mostly sticking with her fellow Northerners.

After completing her degree, Clark reported she couldn’t afford to stay in London and upon moving back to Newcastle, was taken aback by the lack of creative opportunities available – she stopped pursuing a career in the arts and took up bar work and retail jobs. But after a gruelling period of giving up hope, Clark was awarded the New Writing North Young Writers Talent grant which she described to me as “life-changing”.  Although her writing career wouldn’t properly take off for another few years, it’s clear that such a rewarding opportunity renewed some of the hope Clark had in making it within the arts. 

I asked Clark, who currently resides in London, if she found the South more enjoyable and accessible now she had found success in the arts. She responded by expressing gratitude for working within such a close-knit, supportive community and stating that she feels more at peace with London now, although I suppose one never really forgets a feeling of alienation. 

We also discussed Clark’s second novel, Penance. Penance is a fictional true crime novel written from the perspective of a shady, Southern journalist who intends to pick up the pieces of a case years after it happened. I began by asking Clark what prompted her shift from horror to true crime, to which she replied that she felt the pressure of the punishing turnaround that exists for young female authors; Clark had signed a two book deal with Influx Press and after Boy Parts, out of fear that she simply wouldn’t be able to replicate the success of her first novel, Clark picked a “big, interesting topic” and purposefully strayed from the ballpark of her first novel to avoid being labelled a one trick pony.

Clark chose to write from the perspective of an older, Southern man rather than a young, starving artist from Newcastle as in Boy Parts, as she was sick of the speculation that she could only write from her own experiences and tired of addressing the parallels drawn between her own life and Irina’s. In my opinion, this not only proved to the sceptics the proficiency of Clark’s writing, but also the ways one can highlight and expose the ramifications of the North-South divide without a Northern voice narrating.

We ended our conversation by discussing Clark’s latest short story collection, the highly anticipated She’s Always Hungry. I asked Clark how this work differs from her previous books. Whilst there are still elements of horror, particularly body horror, in her new book, Clark teased that readers can also look forward to tales of speculative fiction, sci-fi and more traditional literary short stories. Despite working on this project from as early as 2017, these stories are indicative of where she intends to go next with her writing. For long-time fans of Clark’s work, rest assured that her iconic black comedy and cutting observations will be ever-present in her new collection.

***

She’s Always Hungry was published by Faber and Faber on 5th November.