Carole Hailey completed the six-month Guardian/UEA novel writing course taught by Bernardine Evaristo, who imbued Carole with such a love for writing fiction that she abandoned her career in law to undertake an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, followed by a PhD in Creative Writing at Swansea University. Carole was a London Library Emerging Writer 2020/21. The Silence Project is her first published novel and was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize Peggy Chapman-Andrews First Novel Award 2020 and highly commended by the judges. She lives in Wales with her husband and two rescue dogs.
An utterly compelling page-turner, you'll keep thinking about this novel long after you've put it down. * Glamour * A page-turner * Scotland on Sunday * Carole Hailey has conjured a gripping tale of transformation; its protagonist's clear-eyed, arresting voice is impossible to ignore. This striking debut grounds itself in a world we recognize in order to invite us to imagine both darkness - and hope. The Silence Project marks the arrival of a sophisticated and compelling new voice. -- Erica Wagner Totally unique, gripping, compelling and immersive -- Nell Hudson, author of Just For Today 'Multilayered and philosophical ... grippingly compulsive ... reminiscent of writers such as Margaret Atwood, Naomi Alderman and Miriam Toews ... inventive and original * Nation Cymru * A slow burn that leads up to an incendiary conclusion. It holds a mirror up to our cultural compulsion to have a take on every tragedy that passes our screens, and the way that movements can spiral out of control. But it's also a deep dive into the divide between a mother and a daughter, and the struggle to understand who your parents are outside their identity as your parents. * Readers Digest * Compulsive reading ... so timely in its considerations of the ownership of narrative and truth -- Jane Fraser, author of Advent A big novel, a story for our age that asks the central question: how to save an endangered world when there can no longer be heroes? Love and power burn through The Silence Project. A terrifying and beautiful coming of age story. What an achievement! -- Isabelle Dupuy author of Living the Dream A gripping, intelligent, multi-layered triumph -- Andy Charman, author of Crow Court A ferociously smart page turner, exploring how idealism curdles into fanaticism, silence into violence. Brilliantly original and inventive. -- Alan Bilton, author of The Known and Unknown Sea Arresting ... pins down the zeigeist as if with a rivet gun and is so good on the subject of cults that it might well become the focus one. Bravo. -- Jon Gower Captivating ... a nimble and fascinating page-turner * Buzz * A remarkable novel ... illustrates the evil that lies in the heart of men's (and women's) hearts when they decide their way is the only way * Meath Chronicle *