Elspeth Wilson
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elspethwrites.bsky.social
Elspeth Wilson
@elspethwrites.bsky.social
4.9K followers 370 following 160 posts
Writer, poet and guinea pig fosterer. These Mortal Bodies, my debut about sisterhood, girlhood and obsession, is out now with Simon and Schuster 🦇.

https://linktr.ee/elspethwrites
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elspethwrites.bsky.social
My debut novel has gone to number 1 in the rather cryptic 'other practices' category thanks to being part of Kindle's daily deal 😂. And no 7 in coming of age! Last few hours to buy something I poured my heart and soul into for 99p xx #BookSky

www.amazon.co.uk/These-Mortal...
October 24, 2025 at 8:47 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
If you're looking for an autumn read with crackling fires, mossy woods, soaring spires and a creeping gothic atmosphere then my debut novel These Mortal Bodies is a Kindle daily deal for today only 💚🎓🖤!! 99p for many hours of (and many more of my life 😂😅)
October 24, 2025 at 11:53 AM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
There's just one more day to get 25% off a preorder of the paperback of my debut novel, These Mortal Bodies from Waterstones! If nature as character, explorations of gender and femininity, obsession and friendship are your kind of thing 💚🎓
October 16, 2025 at 7:40 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
She's getting a new look! Absolutely delighted to reveal the paperback cover of my debut novel, These Mortal Bodies, which I am absolutely *obsessed* with 💚🖤! It captures the murkiness of sisterhood, the watery vibes and gothic atmosphere absolutely perfectly. Term commences 26/2/26 🎓 #booksky
A girl in a white dress stands in a pond surrounded by reeds. She is against a backdrop of trees and gothic architecture. The book is These Mortal Bodies by Elspeth Wilson and the font is bright green.
October 15, 2025 at 8:57 AM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
One of my fave bits of reader feedback so far for my debut, These Mortal Bodies, about coming of age, infatuation and the underside of girlhood - "an absolute delight, so incredibly immersive and so many characters I wanted to punch in the face" 📖🖤 #BookSky
August 22, 2025 at 9:41 AM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
My debut novel, These Mortal Bodies, came out last week! I'm so excited for my literary-leaning campus novel with dark academia and gothic vibes to be out in the world! Here's some of the lovely things other authors are saying about it. #BookSky
'A compelling journey into the power of female friendship, obsession and rituals that lingers longer after you finish' Celia Silvani, author of Baby Teeth 'Truly a beautiful debut. The perfect combination of sinister, nostalgic and glamorous.' Angie Spoto, author of The Grief Nurse
July 21, 2025 at 6:09 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
My debut novel These Mortal Bodies comes out in July and I'm running a workshop about writing friendship as the light and dark of friendship is at the heart of the book. To join you can just DM or email me with proof of purchase in any form - I'd love to see you there ❤️ #Writing #BookSky
Writing Friendship, Online, 11th June 7-8.30pm Friendships can define our lives, in ways both light and dark, but often they aren't centred in art or written about as much as other kinds of love. To attend the workshop and explore writing about friendship, just pre-order a copy of These Mortal Bodies in any form and get in touch with your proof or purchase!
May 26, 2025 at 7:01 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
Just a debut author with the proof of their novel they spent five years writing!! I've been told ND characters aren't 'relatable' & that stories about young women's self discovery lack 'substance' so it feels so good to hold These Mortal Bodies and I can't wait for it to be with readers! 💗 #BookSky
A white femme person with long dark blonde hair stands in front of a book case. She is wearing a pink gingham dress and holding up a dark pink book called These Mortal Bodies by Elspeth Wilson. They are smiling.
April 18, 2025 at 8:53 AM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
I have lovely new followers & increasingly little time until pub date so feel like I should say something about These Mortal Bodies but (surprise!) it's v tough to sum up yr work! So I'll just say if you like yearning, gothic vibes, infatuation, morally grey MCs & secret societies you may like TMB!
A pink book cover with gothic architecture and white birds. The book is These Mortal Bodies by Elspeth Wilson. It is coming 17th July 2025.
March 26, 2025 at 3:11 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
Roses are red,
violets are blue,
I'd like to join an ancient all-girls
secret society with you 🕯️🎓

Happy Galentines from Ivy, Martha, Prim & the Coven! If books exploring friendship, feminine obsession, class and coming of age are your thing, pre-orders are open. Term commences 17/7/25

#BookSky
February 14, 2025 at 11:27 AM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
Very excitingly, These Mortal Bodies has started to receive its first endorsements! I'm so grateful to authors & readers for spending time with my work and these gorge quotes. Pre-order links in bio if you like tales of girlhood, obsession, friendship, yearning, soaring spires and powerful woods 📚🕯️
‘Builds tension and atmosphere with a quiet creepiness as it hurtles towards a shocking conclusion. It’s refreshing to have read about a protagonist with neurodivergence where it’s portrayed without cliché and with bold authenticity’ Chris Bridges, author of Sick to Death ‘A delicious coming of age story with a dark academia twist... Gripping and beautifully told, Elspeth Wilson has breathed life into her characters that will linger long after the final page’ Laura Elliott, author of Awakened ‘This book is peak dark academia’ Reader review ‘Absolutely brilliant’ Reader review ‘An enticing and unsettling look at how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of belonging’ Reader review
January 31, 2025 at 4:07 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
Some things that were on my mind when I started writing my debut novel:

📚 Morally grey female MCs
🕯️ Secret societies
📚 Elite worlds where rules are made to be broken
🕯️The power of the sea
📚 Friendships that are oh so close
🕯️ (Bi) yearning

💗 These Mortal Bodies coming July 17th 2025 💗

#BookSky
A pink book cover with a black gothic building. It is These Mortal Bodies by Elspeth Wilson. There is white text underneath on a pink background saying Coming 17th July 2025.
January 26, 2025 at 5:54 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
It's six month to the day til These Mortal Bodies comes out! And it's almost five years since I started to write this book with sisterhood, betrayal and the history of witch trials on my mind. What a journey! I can't wait for readers to meet Ivy, Prim and Martha! So happy to see these early reviews
‘This book is peak dark academia’ Reader review ‘Absolutely brilliant’ Reader review ‘An enticing and unsettling look at how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of belonging’ Reader review ‘Engaging, dark and twisty’ Reader review ‘A mystery of local witch trails and the introduction of women accessing academia and the way this may all be intertwined with the societies we’ve met is truly mindblowingly out of this world’ Reader review ‘Enthralling, engaging and perfect for an autumnal read’ Reader review ‘A dark academia novel that blends detail about Oxbridge with invented history of women accused of witchcraft, and blurs the lines between traditions and rituals, power and mysticism’ Reader review ‘Explores the murky waters of ‘sisterhood’ and questions whether the character’s relationships are virtuous, treacherous, toxic or a mix…. a page turner’ Reader review ‘As an avid dark academia reader, this novel ticked many of my boxes… I was hooked’ Reader review ‘This book is peak dark academia’ Reader review ‘Absolutely brilliant’ Reader review ‘An enticing and unsettling look at how much we’re willing to sacrifice for the sake of belonging’ Reader review ‘Engaging, dark and twisty’ Reader review ‘A mystery of local witch trails and the introduction of women accessing academia and the way this may all be intertwined with the societies we’ve met is truly mindblowingly out of this world’ Reader review ‘Enthralling, engaging and perfect for an autumnal read’ Reader review ‘A dark academia novel that blends detail about Oxbridge with invented history of women accused of witchcraft, and blurs the lines between traditions and rituals, power and mysticism’ Reader review ‘Explores the murky waters of ‘sisterhood’ and questions whether the character’s relationships are virtuous, treacherous, toxic or a mix…. a page turner’ Reader review ‘As an avid dark academia reader, this novel ticked many of my boxes… I was hooked’ Reader review
January 17, 2025 at 2:14 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
I had my first ever event where I read from my debut novel, These Mortal Bodies, to an audience last night 😭💙! It was so special and lovely - everyone was v kind in their feedback. The novel I started writing five years ago and held so close to my heart is going to be out in the world in six months!
A white person with dark blond hair and gold rimmed glasses wearing a pink gingham dress. They are holding up a postcard which is bright pink and says 'These Mortal Bodies' in white text.
January 14, 2025 at 9:14 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
I can hardly wait for proofs of my novel to arrive in early 2025! (I suppose Xmas in between softens the wait a little). In the meantime, if feminine obsession, toxic friendships and secret societies are your kind of These Mortal Bodies is available to pre-order and request on Netgalley 🕯️! #BookSky
I’m ready to be part of something bigger, I told myself, whispering the words over and over, visualizing myself at the centre of things, never alone again. Leaving behind her childhood in coastal Scotland, neurodivergent Ivy Graveson arrives at a prestigious university and throws herself into the deep end of life on campus. Though her fellow students all seem to come from money and to have known each other their whole lives, outsider Ivy is determined to belong. She embraces the world of secret societies, and as she discovers the legacy of her college, the parallels between its past and her present become striking. Because however hard she tries to ignore it, Ivy has always felt one with water and her own personal talisman, a heron, is never far away. In just one life-changing year in these hallowed halls, Ivy will have to decide how much sisterhood means to her and how far she’ll go to become the person she was destined to be. A richly atmospheric campus novel perfect for fans of The Secret History and dark academia, These Mortal Bodies is an intoxicating story of obsession, infatuation and toxic friendship in the world of the elites, where rules are made to be broken. A pink book against a black and pink background with white birds. The text on the book says 'Elspeth Wilson These Mortal Bodies' and underneath it says 'Coming 17th July 2025'. The cover of the book is pink with dark gothic architecture and white birds flying past.
December 13, 2024 at 3:48 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
I haven't shared any of my poetry on here yet so I thought I'd share a bi little poem from my pamphlet, Too Hot to Sleep! Speaks to so many of the things I often write about - yearning, friendship, girlhood, heat, sexuality, domesticity #BookSky #Poetry
A picture of a poem that reads: 60% OF BISEXUAL PEOPLE ARE IN PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AT ANY ONE TIME The scalloped edge of the bra means the Roman sun burns my skin into a wave pattern. Once, we were on the beach we had made from the sandbox in your garden. Once, your boobs sat in this bra, not quite filling it, an electric gap between you and the lace. The lawn had been mowed, sweet smell escaping. We tried each other out for size, my pasty flesh spilling out of your bikini top as we sat in the mosaic sun of your patio. Your aunt inside the house, hoping its tidy perfection would rub off on her mind. Your father, trampling across the grass cuttings, leaving upon seeing the sight of us, declaring he didn’t want a heart attack at forty. Free of those oppressive white walls, we laughed and laughed, our torsos shaped around each other like cuttings bent for a trellis. Now, my burn still aches with the touch of you, my skin less hot from the sun than when your fingers left their mark upon it
December 6, 2024 at 10:30 AM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
🕯️ if you can't do an OTT photo shoot after spending 5 years writing your first novel, then when can you?🕯️

All things autumn, ancient woods and white dresses are so important to the three best friends at the heart of These Mortal Bodies. I can't wait for readers to meet them!

#BookSky #DarkAcademia
A white person in a white dress with long dark blonde hair stands in an autumnal wood with their back to the camera. A white person with long dark blonde hair stands in an autumnal wood with their face in profile. A white person with long dark blonde hair stands in an autumnal wood. They are looking down at the forest floor.
November 20, 2024 at 7:34 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
These very cute postcards for These Mortal Bodies have arrived! So gorgeous to see the cover (and my first novel!) one step closer to being a reality. If you enjoy feminine obsession, girls only vibes, all-consuming friendships and secret societies, pre-orders are open now! #debut2025 #darkacademia
November 17, 2024 at 12:14 PM
elspethwrites.bsky.social
Little intro post to say hi! I'm a writer whose debut is out in 2025! These Mortal Bodies is described as The Secret History meets The Crucible - think secret societies, feminine obsession and friendships that are oh so close. Always love connecting w other writers and readers #writingcommunity
November 15, 2024 at 10:44 AM