Toby Lloyd

Toby was born in London. He studied English at university, before moving to America to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing at NYU where he was taught by E.L. Doctorow and Jonathan Safran Foer. Now thirty-three, he has returned to London where he works as a freelance tutor and writer. He has published short stories and essays in various journals, including the Los Angeles Review of Books, and has been shortlisted for the VS Pritchett Prize. His debut novel, Fervour, was published in the UK by Sceptre and the US by Avid Reader in March 2024 and is already gathering acclaim. French (Gallimard) and Italian (Neri Pozza) rights were sold at auction.

“magnificent, indelible debut novel…That a young British novelist, on his first try, should have so effectively taken up a gauntlet laid down by the greatest American novelist [Toni Morrison] of an era might seem surprising. But maybe not. Enriching his story with detail and above all heart, Lloyd has crafted a lasting allegory of our dark historical time.” - The New York Times

"a truly combustible mix . . . Fervour is written with a rare precision and lingers in the mind long after reading. The quality of Lloyd’s prose alone ensures that anything he writes next will be worth investigating” - The Guardian

"‘This is a stylish, puzzling, mystical novel that offers no easy answers to how its characters — or its readers — might react in the wake of destruction. Inviting discussion rather than providing resolution, Fervour marks the arrival of an intriguing and intelligent new voice.” - The Financial Times

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