Philippa Perry’s readers know her for an attentive interest in relationships and the stories people tell. Her move into crime fiction gives fans another reason to hear her: the habits of listening that shape the non-fiction now sit beside the pleasures of character, suspicion and a mystery to be solved.
Quick facts
Best known for
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read and writing about relationships
Perry is a psychotherapist whose working life also includes writing, journalism, presenting and art. Her non-fiction explores relationships and understanding in different forms, from practical prose to a graphic account of therapy. Those books have given readers several ways to encounter her thinking before opening a novel.
Shrink Solves Murder, published by Hutchinson Heinemann in 2026, was her fiction debut. A psychotherapist doubts the account of a patient’s death, turning professional listening and the interpretation of another person’s story into a crime plot. For someone who has followed the earlier writing, it is a change of reading experience with a recognisable interest in people at its centre.
Where to start with their books
Couch Fiction
This graphic account follows a year of therapy sessions, with illustrations by Flo Perry and explanatory footnotes. It offers a view of the search for understanding in a consultation room, in a form that joins pictures with the conversation.
How to Stay Sane
Perry considers self-observation, relationships, stepping beyond familiar responses and the ways people define themselves. This short non-fiction book is a route into her thinking for readers who want practical ideas to pause over and consider.
The Book You Want Everyone You Love to Read
This relationship book extends the conversation beyond parenting to partners, family, friends and other connections. It takes up love, arguments, change and loss, giving readers several everyday questions to think through in Perry’s company.
Festival appearances
For tickets, use the host festival’s official box office. Confirm the date, venue and access details before paying.
Stratford’s Church and the Couch to Cosy Crime paired Perry with Richard Coles on 10 May. At Hay on 26 May, Gaby Huddart talked with her on the Meadow Stage about the debut and creating its therapist character. Edinburgh’s named-book event followed on 16 August at Venue T.
Where to see them next
No 2027 appearances announced yet. Check the festival guides for programme dates.
Plan your trip
Think about which character or reading question you would enjoy discussing with your companion afterwards. The move from relationship books to a mystery may appeal to different people in the same group, giving you several routes into a shared day.
If you hope to ask a question, keep it centred on the writing and leave yourself free to enjoy listening if there is no time for yours. Plan a gap after the event for a drink before the journey home; the guides below cover the practical choices for each festival.
The 2026 programmes featured Philippa Perry at Cheltenham Literature Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Hay Festival, Stratford Literary Festival; follow those guides for event information and practical visit details.
Was Perry discussing a crime novel?
Her fiction debut supplied the focus for the Hay and Edinburgh conversations, with paired crime-writing sessions elsewhere. Readers who know her non-fiction can explore the mystery as another part of the same writer’s working life.
Which Perry book should I read before attending?
Choose by your interest: a novel, practical relationship writing or the graphic exploration of therapy. The reading suggestions below offer different forms, so there is no need to finish every book before enjoying a conversation.
How can I book tickets to hear Perry?
Use the festival’s official box office for your chosen session. Ask directly about access support or any accompanying-person policy before paying, and check whether a wider festival pass includes the talk you want.
Can a Perry conversation suit a book-group outing?
A group can arrive from different books and still have plenty to discuss afterwards. Agree a meeting point and leave room in the day for comparing the writing, especially if some members are still reading the mystery.
