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Ian McGuire
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Ian McGuire

Goodreads Author


Born
The United Kingdom
Website

Genre
Fiction, Historical Fiction

Member Since
January 2016


Ian McGuire is the author of White River Crossing which will be published in February 2026. His previous novels are The Abstainer published in September 2020 by Random House (USA) and Simon & Schuster (UK), The North Water published by in 2016 by Henry Holt (USA) and Simon & Schuster (UK), and Incredible Bodies published in 2007 by Bloomsbury. Ian lives in Manchester, England and teaches at The University of Manchester's Centre for New Writing. He is a winner of the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award and Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown Award.

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Popular Answered Questions

I just finished The North Water and thought it was excellent. Drax is a truly reprehensible character, where did you dredge him up from?
Ian McGuire Hi Jeremy:

I started with the idea of him being like an animal -- in other words being driven by instinct and desire, living in the moment and having l…moreHi Jeremy:

I started with the idea of him being like an animal -- in other words being driven by instinct and desire, living in the moment and having little or no interest in the past or future. He doesn't think or worry at all about the causes or consequences of his actions, unlike Sumner who can't shake off the past and is haunted by it. So that was how I began, and then built him up from there. Hope that makes some sense.

Ian(less)
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I just finished you book. It was one of the very few books that I actually felt like I was a fly on the wall. Wonderful! Gripping! I can't wait until your next one. Will it be soon?
Ian McGuire I'm working on it now. I'm going as fast as I can (which is unfortunately not very fast because I'm a slow writer!). It'll be 2018 if everything goes …moreI'm working on it now. I'm going as fast as I can (which is unfortunately not very fast because I'm a slow writer!). It'll be 2018 if everything goes smoothly.(less)
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Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.94 · 38,062 ratings · 4,639 reviews · 8 distinct works • Similar authors
The North Water
3.98 avg rating — 34,518 ratings — published 2016 — 33 editions
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The Abstainer
3.58 avg rating — 3,408 ratings — published 2020 — 27 editions
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Incredible Bodies
3.48 avg rating — 123 ratings — published 2006 — 5 editions
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White River Crossing
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 33 ratings — expected publication 2026 — 7 editions
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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 4 ratings — 2 editions
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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
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Ian’s Recent Updates

Ian McGuire is now friends with Jack
Oct 17, 2025 09:31AM  · 
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Quotes by Ian McGuire  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“He finds the lying comes easy enough, of course. Words are just noises in a certain order, and he can use them any way he wishes. Pigs grunt, ducks quack, and men tell lies: that is how it generally goes.”
― Ian McGuire, The North Water
16 likes
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“Cleverness, he thinks, will get you nowhere; it is only the stupid, the brilliantly stupid, who will inherit the earth.”
― Ian McGuire, The North Water
tags: sad-but-true
14 likes
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“Oh, the others will talk and plan and make oaths and promises, but there are precious few fuckers who will do.”
― Ian McGuire, The North Water
tags: action, empty-words, inaction
12 likes
Like

Polls

July is literary/general fiction. This list of books is pulled from Booker Prize eligible, nominees for the Longlist, Shortlist, winners or non-winners (various years) Voting will be open through June 10.

At the Edge of the Orchard At the Edge of the Orchard by Tracy Chevalier Tracy Chevalier
 
  4 votes, 66.7%

The Nightingale The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah Kristin Hannah
 
  2 votes, 33.3%

The North Water The North Water by Ian McGuire Ian McGuire
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Commonwealth Commonwealth by Ann Patchett Ann Patchett
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

6 total votes
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Aussie Readers: **Summer Challenge - 1/12/15 - 29/2/16** 883 326 Mar 03, 2016 05:16PM  
Aussie Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Recently purchased/acquired book/s 11518 1449 Mar 07, 2016 06:20PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Summer Challenge 2016: Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS THREAD 2596 493 Aug 31, 2016 09:00PM  
The Mookse and th...: 2016 Booker Longlist Discussion 106 128 Sep 13, 2016 02:14AM  
ManBookering: 2016 Longlist Predictions [MBP] 202 331 Sep 14, 2016 10:06PM  
Challenge: 50 Books: Melanie's 2016 Reads 34 38 Oct 17, 2016 12:52PM  

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Are you searching for the NEXT best book? Are you willing to kiss all your spare cash goodbye? Are you easily distracted by independent bookshops, bi ...more

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