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Toby Litt

Goodreads Author

Born

Bedfordshire, England, The United Kingdom

Website

http://www.tobylitt.com/

Twitter

tobylitt

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry

Influences

Muriel Spark, Virginia Woolf, Claire-Louise Bennett, Samuel Beckett, O ...more

Member Since

November 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/toby_litt

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Toby Litt was born in Bedfordshire, England. He studied Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia where he was taught by Malcolm Bradbury, winning the 1995 Curtis Brown Fellowship.

He lived in Prague from 1990 to 1993 and published his first book, a collection of short stories entitled Adventures in Capitalism, in 1996.

In 2003 Toby Litt was nominated by Granta magazine as one of the 20 'Best of Young British Novelists'.

In 2018, he published Wrestliana, his memoir about wrestling, writing, losing and being a man.

His novel, A Writer's Diary, was published by Galley Beggar Press on January 1st 2022.

A Writer's Diary continues daily on Substack.

He lives in London and is the Head of Creative Writing at the University of Southampton. ...more

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Toby Litt’s books

Average rating: 3.53 · 8,051 ratings · 884 reviews · 89 distinct works • Similar authors

	Dead Boy Detectives, Volume 1: Schoolboy Terrors by Toby Litt (Goodreads Author) (Writer), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator) 3.46 avg rating — 1,013 ratings — published 2013 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	deadkidsongs 3.85 avg rating — 778 ratings — published 2001 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Corpsing 3.33 avg rating — 471 ratings — published 2000 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dead Boy Detectives, Volume 2: Ghost Snow by Toby Litt (Goodreads Author) (Artist), Mark Buckingham (Illustrator), Ryan Kelly (Illustrator) 3.69 avg rating — 407 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Patience 4.14 avg rating — 289 ratings — published 2019 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Hospital 3.34 avg rating — 345 ratings — published 2007 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I Play the Drums in a Band Called Okay 3.46 avg rating — 264 ratings — published 2008 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Beatniks 3.17 avg rating — 265 ratings — published 1997 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Finding Myself 3.14 avg rating — 253 ratings — published 2003 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Journey Into Space 3.41 avg rating — 162 ratings — published 2009 — 9 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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208 posts
Toby Litt's Blog

On a Benediction

This is something I’ve been yearning to share for over two years.

I hope those of you who’ve been following the Writer’s Diary will understand.

It’s something I’m proud of and which still moves me.

Whilst I was writing the first draft of A Writer’s Diary, partly during the early lockdowns, one entry in particular came straight out as a little piece that I felt would have a wider life. I had a suspici

Toby is Currently Reading

Toby Litt is currently reading

Minor Detail

by Adania Shibli

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Dec 27, 2025 07:13AM

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Juice

by Tim Winton

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The World as Will and Representation, Volume I

by Arthur Schopenhauer

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Dec 27, 2025 07:12AM

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Toby’s Recent Updates

Toby Litt rated a book really liked it Eliot's New Life by Lyndall Gordon	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Toby Litt rated a book it was amazing The House of Bernarda Alba and Other Plays by Federico García Lorca	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 28, 2025 01:47PM · 3 likes · like
Toby Litt wants to read Voss by Patrick White	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 27, 2025 07:30AM · 1 like · like
Toby Litt wants to read Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 27, 2025 07:30AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Däniken <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Dec 27, 2025 07:13AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Minor Detail by Adania Shibli. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Minor Detail by Adania Shibli <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Toby Litt is currently reading Juice by Tim Winton	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Toby Litt started reading The World as Will and Representation, Volume I by Arthur Schopenhauer	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 27, 2025 07:12AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The World as Will and Representation, Volume I by Arthur Schopenhauer. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The World as Will and Representation, Volume I by Arthur Schopenhauer <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Toby Litt is currently reading The House of Bernarda Alba and Other Plays by Federico García Lorca	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 27, 2025 07:11AM · 1 like · like
Toby Litt wants to read Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 27, 2025 02:35AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Toby Litt (?)

“Conversely, bad writers often write in order to forward a cause or enlarge other people’s understanding of a contemporary social issue. Any attempt to write fiction in order to make the world a better, fairer place is almost certain to fail.”
― Toby Litt

tags: baad-writing, criticism, writing, writing-process

2 likes

“...the pleasures of literary fiction are the pleasures of orientation; the pleasures of literature are the pleasures of bewilderment.”
― Toby Litt

tags: literary-fiction, literature

0 likes

“Bad writing is almost always a love poem addressed by the self to the self. The person who will admire it first and last and most is the writer herself.”
― Toby Litt

tags: bad-writing, criticism, writing

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: 20.9 - Moderator's Pet - Wendy UK's task: Celebrate Norwich!	14	77	Jun 10, 2016 02:08PM
The Seasonal Read...: * Summer Challenge 2016: Tasks	11	730	Jul 20, 2016 05:55PM
Forgotten Classic...: What Are You Reading?	12	59	Sep 11, 2018 06:21PM
Reading the 20th ...: What books are you reading now? (2017-19)	2003	235	Jun 10, 2019 08:43PM

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