CJ Skuse

Claire Joanna Skuse (born 1980) is an English novelist and lecturer in creative writing at Bath Spa University. She began her career writing young adult (YA) fiction, publishing five novels, and was named a key figure in the "rise of YA antiheroines" by The Guardian. She then moved into adult thrillers with the release of Sweetpea (2017) and its sequels.

kuse was born in Weston-super-Mare to parents Jenny and Colin, who ran local pubs and hotels, including the Britannia Inn.

Skuse was 17 when she began writing and trying to pitch to publishers. She went on to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Creative English Studies and a Master of Arts (MA) in Writing for Young People, both from Bath Spa University She worked in a nursery alongside her studies and had an internship at the Weston Mercury.

After graduating from university, Skuse landed a job as a publishing assistant at The Chicken House in Frome, through which she published her debut young adult (YA) novel Pretty Bad Things, about 16-year-old twins who go on a petty crime spree. The novel won the inaugural 2011 Dumfries and Burgh Book Award. It was also shortlisted for Lancashire Book of the Year. This was followed by Skuse's second and third YA novels Rockaholic, about a fan of a rock band,and Dead Romantic, a modern Frankenstein retelling.The latter was shortlisted for a 2014 BookTrust Best Book Award.

Skuse was credited in The Guardian with pioneering a "YA antiheroine" trend from the publication of Pretty Bad …