Kate Murray-Browne: 'I approach each book with openness and curiosity'
BY Maya Fernandes
11th Jun 2026
In this interview Kate Murray-Browne, author, freelance editor and mentor on our Complete Your Manuscript programme, shares her advice for budding writers.
'I’m always trying to strike a balance between making concrete, useful suggestions and leaving the path open for the writer to come up with their own solutions.'
We spoke to Kate about her editing process, her love for character-driven stories and what she enjoys most about working with aspiring authors.
As an editor, formerly at Faber and now working freelance, how would you describe your approach to editing a manuscript?
Every book needs something different, so I approach each book with openness and curiosity, trying to work out what this particular book is asking for and how to support the author in writing the book they want. Inevitably personal preferences do creep in, but I’m keen not to impose my own vision on a book – I’m always trying to strike a balance between making concrete, useful suggestions and leaving the path open for the writer to come up with their own solutions.
Both of your novels place a strong emphasis on location: The Upstairs Room centres on a couple unsettled by their new home, whilst One Girl Began weaves together the lives of three women connected by the same building across time. Do your stories tend to begin with a sense of place, or does setting develop alongside your characters?
Both of my books started with a place – the house in The Upstairs Room and the factory building in One Girl Began. But neither of them really got off the ground until I found the characters. I had to know who was inhabiting those buildings before the book could start to come alive.
Your writing explores a wide range of relationships – romantic, familial and otherwise. What interests you about writing these kinds of character-driven stories, and how do you make them feel so real?
I think I’m drawn to writing about people and relationships because that’s where we spend most of our lives – although dramatic things do happen in the course of an ordinary life, and sometimes they make very good stories, a marriage or a close friendship is woven into our everyday. It’s kind of you to say they feel real; I think I’m similar to a lot of writers in that I’ve always liked observing and listening in. I like hearing other people’s stories and watching how they behave, and noticing the shapes and patterns of real life.
As both an editor and an author, do you find it challenging to separate your editorial eye from your creative voice, or do you feel that having a knowledge of both perspectives strengthens your work?
I did in the beginning – the editor’s job is to root out things that don’t quite work or aren’t as good as they could be and sometimes those are the things you need to explore, or at least tolerate, in an early draft. Now I feel like both parts of my brain – the creative side and the more reflective, analytical side – work quite well in tandem. You need both to write, but perhaps one side will dominate more than the other, depending on what stage the book is at.
What novel do you most frequently find yourself recommending to others?
Usually something by Curtis Sittenfeld – Romantic Comedy if someone needs cheering up or her short stories. Or The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst – I’ve only ever had rapturous responses to it.
We're so excited to have you on board as an editor and mentor on our Complete Your Manuscript – One-to-One Programme! What do you find most rewarding about supporting budding writers?
It’s always exciting to see a book take shape and I like being part of that process, even if it’s just in a supportive role. It’s a thrill to see writers change and develop and surprise themselves in the mentoring process. And I like being around writers – I think writing a book is a brave, strange thing to do and I can’t help feeling some common ground with a person who’s made that leap of faith.
Could you share your top three tips for writers who have completed their manuscript and are just beginning the editing process?
- Don’t be afraid – sometimes writers think the editing process requires a whole new set of skills, but most of the things editors consider – should that word go there or there, should that happen now or later – are questions writers ask themselves anyway. Editing just requires you to sit with those questions a little longer.
- Be bold – it’s normal for books to change quite a lot in the editorial process. Often writers are frightened to make big changes because they’re scared the whole thing will collapse or they don’t want to lose months of work. But your creative supply is not finite – you can always make new words!
- Embrace the magic – editing has a reputation for being quite dry and difficult, not so much fun as writing. But the editorial process, particularly if you’re working with someone else, can show you there’s more to your book than you thought, like finding an extra room, or two, in your house. And there comes a point when you’re so familiar with your fictional world that you can conjure up new scenes at will – that’s the part of writing that feels most like magic to me.
Kate Murray-Browne is a writer and editor. Her first novel, The Upstairs Room, was published by Picador in 2017 and was a Times’ and Spectator Book of the Year. Her second, One Girl Began, was published by Orion in 2024. She was an editor at Faber for eight years, where she worked with a range of award-winning and bestselling authors. As a freelancer, she has worked for a number of major publishing houses and leading creative writing schools, as well as continuing to work one-to-one with writers to develop their manuscripts.
We're delighted to welcome Kate as the latest addition to our expert mentoring team. She’s now a mentor on our Complete Your Manuscript – One-to-One Programme.
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