McBride's second novel The Lesser Bohemians was published on 1 September 2016.[5] Set in Camden Town in the 1990s, it tells the story of the turbulent relationship between an 18-year-old drama student and a 38-year-old actor. McBride discussed the book on Woman's Hour on 8 September[6] and it was reviewed on BBC Radio 4's programme Saturday Review on 17 September.[7]
Her third novel, Strange Hotel was published in February 2020.[8] McBride's first non-fiction work Something Out of Place: Women and Disgust was published in 2021.[9]
In September 2024, it was announced that McBride's fourth novel, The City Changes its Face, would be published in February 2025.[10]
In 2017 McBride was awarded the inaugural Creative Fellowship of the Beckett Research Centre, University of Reading.[17][18] The fellowship resulted in Mouthpieces, a collection of three performance texts published in 2021.[19][20]
In 2022 McBride wrote and directed A Very Short Film About Longing.[21] The film was screened at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival. It starred Joe Alwyn, Natalia Kostrzewa and Lashay Anderson and was soundtracked by Tindersticks.[22]
Personal life
McBride was born in Liverpool in 1976 to Irish parents, both of whom were nurses. The family moved back to Ireland when she was three.[23][24] She spent her childhood in Tubbercurry in County Sligo and Castlebar, County Mayo. She recalled writing from the age of seven or eight.[25] At the age of 17, McBride moved to London to begin her studies at The Drama Centre, but realised after graduating that she had no interest in becoming an actress.
McBride has a love for Russian literature and spent four months in Saint Petersburg in 2000. On her return, she worked as an office temp and travelled.[25] She completed her first novel during this time. In 2006, she returned to Cork for a time and began work on her second novel. McBride moved to London in 2017 with her husband and daughter after spending several years living in Norwich.
