Hester Musson’s debut novel, The Beholders, was a Times bestseller, a Sunday Times historical book of the month and shortlisted for the HWA Debut Crown in 2024. Her second novel, The Night Hag, was published in February 2026, also by 4th Estate.

She grew up in Leicestershire and studied English Literature at Bristol University, later completing a master’s in drama at the RCS in Glasgow. She was an actress and autocue operator (among other things) in London before writing full time and now lives in Scotland.