Chris Cleave
Photo: Tom Trevatt 2026
“Cleave has a Zola-esque ability to write big and deeply... his great gift is his ability to write moving fiction that also provides original, contemporary insights.”
USA Today
Dr. Chris Cleave is an existential psychotherapist, practicing psychologist and New York Times #1 bestselling writer whose work explores how human beings recover meaning, connection and agency. His novels are translated into 36 languages, and he has spent two decades writing about the inner lives of people under extreme pressure. Alongside his literary career, Cleave maintains a clinical practice in London.
He is the author of four award-winning novels, including Little Bee and Everyone Brave is Forgiven, acclaimed as modern classics. His fiction is recognised for its emotional intelligence and engagement with the human cost of our times.
Alongside his clinical practice, Chris teaches psychotherapy and writes about mental health for a wide audience. He has been a columnist for the Guardian, speaks on stages around the world, and writes for leading publications. He brings narrative intelligence into clinical spaces, and clinical depth into public storytelling.
His forthcoming non-fiction book, Human Again: The Lost Art of Being Alive (2027) brings together psychotherapy and storytelling, case studies and neuroscience. It is a life-affirming book for everyone hoping to live with grace in these difficult times.