Araminta Hall: I Am a Serial Re-Drafter
In this interview, author Araminta Hall discusses the power imbalance at the core of her new thriller, Unreliable Narrator.
Araminta Hall is the author of four novels, including Imperfect Women and Our Kind of Cruelty. She has an MA in creative writing and authorship from the University of Sussex and teaches creative writing in Brighton, where she lives with her husband and three children. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Araminta discusses the power imbalance at the core of her new thriller, Unreliable Narrator, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Araminta Hall
Literary agent: Lizzy Kremer, David Higham Associates
Book title: Unreliable Narrator
Publisher: Penguin Random House/G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release date: July 14, 2026
Genre/category: Psychological Thriller
Previous titles: Everything and Nothing; Dot; Our Kind of Cruelty; Imperfect Women; Hidden Depths; One of the Good Guys
Elevator pitch: From critically acclaimed author Araminta Hall—whose previous books have been featured in the New York Times, Washington Post, and Lost Angeles Times, and novel Imperfect Women has been adapted into an Apple TV+ limited series starring Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington, and Kate Mara—comes a razor-sharp psychological drama thriller about obsession, revenge, and what happens when a woman’s story is stolen and turned into art.
What prompted you to write this book?
All my work is concerned with imbalances of power, most notably the power between men and women. Over the last few years, I’ve been thinking about how reflected this is in global politics, where rich, old, white men generally run the show. The British class system is especially bad for this, in which unfairly obtained generational wealth acts as an in-built privilege for rising to the top. I wanted to explore the damage of this to so-called ordinary people. How people will do anything to hold onto their power and how the lies they tell can become not just the narratives we live by, but also so ingrained they cause us to doubt ourselves.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It always takes me around two years and, yes, the idea always changes in some respects. My ideas tend to start with something I’m thinking about societally and that can come from something on the news or a general feeling or a what if. From there I think about the characters who would best tell this story, and after that I start thinking of the plot. My plots are quite intricate, but I also think they’re movable in a way that characters aren’t. But that does mean things do change quite a bit over various drafts until I have it right. For example, in Unreliable Narrator, the first section didn’t become a journal until about the third draft. But I am a serial re-drafter. I use the first one really to get to know the characters, the world, the story and then usually rewrite almost entirely for draft two, which will then go through multiple edits that will also involve a lot of rewriting and slashing of words. It’s not the most efficient process, but it seems to be the only way I can do it.
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I think I’ve learnt not to be surprised by the amount of surprises there will be! Absolutely nothing is a given when you sit down to write a book, however many times you’ve done it before. And the beauty of publishing is there are so many opportunities that might or might not happen. I really enjoy seeing how other people are interpreting my books in terms of covers or blurbs and then in interviews. I used to get very anxious around the whole process, but I have learnt that there is so little we can do as writers, other than write the best book we can and then take all the opportunities that happen around publication.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
As I said, I appear bonded to my inefficient process—I have tried to really plan with Post-it Notes and charts, but I’ve learnt it’s just not how my brain works. I only work things out in the writing. However, within that there are always surprises. It is amazing how our subconscious brains work when we write. Without realizing it, we are constantly linking ideas and forming pathways. I don’t think that the characters exist beyond what I make them do, but also there is a strange alchemy that happens when you are absorbed in a book, in which solutions and conversations emerge that you feel like you haven’t thought about before. Of course, it all comes from the writer, but there is a real joy in letting your subconscious brain work away and then you can go in and forensically edit.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
The foremost thing I always want readers to get out of my books is a feeling of satisfaction. They’ve paid good money and I want them to feel like they’ve been entertained. Either something has happened in the story that they didn’t expect, or they’ve been transported to somewhere they’ve never been, or they’ve been swept up in an emotional response. But underneath this, I love it when readers say my books have made them think about the world in a slightly different way as well.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Just do it. Sitting down and filling the blank page with words is the only way to start. Remember everything can be changed and you don’t have to show anyone your first draft—I still never do. But if you don’t have words on a page, you have nothing to edit and turn into a novel. Also, read. Anything and everything. Finally, listen to advice or do a course, if you can. While maybe good writing can’t be taught, there are certainly plenty of lessons on structure and plot and the market that are hard to teach yourself. And then remember that there isn’t a right or wrong way for you to write—just whatever works for you.
