Biography
Chris Manby is the author of 48 published books across multiple genres and pseudonyms, including a number of Sunday Times bestsellers. Since 2016, she has specialised in ghost-writing memoir and non-fiction, working with subjects from soap stars to WWII veterans on topics ranging from sheep-farming to spy-craft. Her latest novel, Bad Influence, which she published as C J Wray, was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association’s 2026 Whodunnit Dagger Award.
Before becoming a writer, Chris studied Experimental Psychology at St Edmund Hall and worked in audiobook publishing and advertising. She has written for most of the UK’s national newspapers, including The Times and The Telegraph, and had a long-running column in the Independent Online, with a light-hearted focus on wellness and popular culture. She has also worked as a screenwriter and taught creative writing for the Arvon Foundation.
Having written everything from academic essays to obituaries, novels to memoirs, Chris has developed a keen understanding of how to write clearly and precisely about almost anything. As an RLF Fellow, she is delighted to help students do the same through one-to-one tutorials tailored to their needs.
Chris grew up in Gloucester and now lives in south London. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys drawing and weaving. She is also learning to speak Italian.
Chris is available for student consultation two days a week throughout term.
Positions
- Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow
