Award-winning author and researcher Danielle Giles talks to us about her debut novel 'Mere', set in 10th Century Norfolk, and shares with us the traditional folk stories and modern folk horror that influenced her story.
Danielle Giles is a writer and researcher based in Bristol. She has been published in Extra Teeth and Dear Damsels, shortlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize and the Brick Lane Bookshop Short Story Prize, and longlisted for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize. She won the Local Prize in the 2023 Bath Short Story Award. Her debut novel, Mere, picked as one of the Bookseller's Debuts of 2025, will be published by Mantle in April 2025. You can find Mere on the Suffolk Libraries catalogue.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a house that really valued reading - there were always books on every shelf and I was encouraged to read widely - but my parents also hugely valued libraries. I remember we used to go down to our local library every weekend and select three books to take home. I remember feeling at the time that I was entering some magical, wonderful place - a feeling that persists to this day.
I had a bit of a strange path to publication. I'd spent about six years tortuously writing a previous novel, that I ultimately ended up shelving. Mere was my second novel. I was also writing and publishing short stories alongside this, and my agent came across one of these short stories and got in contact asking what else I was working on. I was about 80% through finishing Mere, and when I told her about it she asked to see it. I gave it a quick edit and sent it across, and she offered representation. It then went on submission for a few weeks before it was picked up by Maddy O'Shea at Mantle, who has been the best editor!
Like a lot of other writers, I find the morning absolutely the best time to write, before all the distractions of the day get their claws in me. I try to start writing for an hour or two before I start work, and then sometimes in my lunch break as well. This can be at my work desk, which has the most wonderful view of a cherry tree outside of it which always cheers me up as there's plenty of birds that visit it. If I'm struggling with motivation, I often go to a space with other people - a library or a coffee shop - to add some accountability.
Mere is set in the 10th century, in a convent where a group of nuns are struggling for survival. Their infirmarian, Hilda, does what she can to provide comforts and cures to her fellow sisters. But when, one day, a young boy goes missing, she begins to suspect that not everything is as it seems with her home. Then another sister, the proud and mysterious Wulfrun, has a vision: the convent is cursed. Together, Hilda and Wulfrun must try to save the convent, even as things collapse around them.
I've always been fascinated by watery landscapes ever since I was a child. There's so much myth and story associated with these flat, shifting landscapes. I spent some time living in East Anglia and found such an incredible peace from going on long walks amongst the reeds, and knew I wanted to set a novel in this landscape.
Researching the everyday lives of the convent sisters was difficult - there is a scarcity of written sources from the era, especially around women, which means that there's a lot of filling-in that you have to do. It does mean that what you find feel like precious gems: from decorative glass beads worn by ordinary women, to glancing references to wives and daughters in chronicles of the time.
Interestingly, I think she's the character that stayed the most consistent in the edits. I think a lot of her character and voice comes from her role in the convent: she's an infirmarian, and wants to save everyone, even as she knows that's not possible. She's also a bit of an outsider, with links in the convent but also connections outside it. This gives her a sense of both discomfort and a bit of a critical eye when she's looking at her fellow sisters. This translates into her voice: she's quite measured and wry.
Absolutely. I'm a massive fan of folk horror, from authors like Andrew Michael Hurley and Lucy McKnight Hardy, and they helped inform a lot of the atmosphere. I also drew heavily from historical authors that add speculative elements to their novels, like Dan Simmons' The Terror and Rosie Andrews' The Leviathan. In terms of films, I also had David Lowery's The Green Knight pretty much on repeat throughout, as a film that leans heavily into the strangeness of the medieval era.
At the moment I'm finishing the draft of my second novel - set in Restoration-era London. Once I've finished that I'm looking forward to writing a few more short stories - I find them satisfying and challenging at the same time.
I love this question, and always struggle to choose just one! I adored A Little Trickerie by Roseanna Pike - a rompy Tudor heist written in the most incredible, distinctive voice. And it's incredibly funny!
That I've recently taken up weightlifting! I was looking for a way to relax and found it so satisfying and enjoyable - you really can't worry about anything else when you're focusing on trying to lift heavy things above your head.
