Julia Blackburn has written a number of books of non-fiction, fiction and poetry. The Three of Us won the J. R. Ackerley Award, Threads won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award and the New Angle Prize, Time Song was shortlisted for the Wainwright Book Prize, and Thin Paths was shortlisted for the Costa Prize for Biography. Her two novels, The Book of Colour and The Leper’s Companions, were both shortlisted for the Women’s Prize. She lives in Suffolk and Italy.

"Julia Blackburn's book gives a far more complete idea of Holiday as an artist than anything else I have read" Guardian "This is a raw, true book that evokes not just the life of the great singer Billie Holiday but an entire jazz era... Blackburn's compelling tale is of whores, drug-pushers, bent policemen and crooked lawyers as well as brilliant musicians, and she brings alive everything she touches" Mail on Sunday "This addition to the tide of Billie Holiday books is extremely welcome. Nowhere else is the context of her life and work so vividly captured" Toni Morrison "Full of vigour and colour...Ms Blackburn's portrait of a unique artist is moving, revealing and quite unforgettable" Economist "Julia Blackburn...has contributed much to the legacy of a remarkable human being" New Statesman

Julia Blackburn has written a number of books of non-fiction, fiction and poetry. The Three of Us won the J. R. Ackerley Award, Threads won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award and the New Angle Prize, Time Song was shortlisted for the Wainwright Book Prize, and Thin Paths was shortlisted for the Costa Prize for Biography. Her two novels, The Book of Colour and The Leper’s Companions, were both shortlisted for the Women’s Prize. She lives in Suffolk and Italy.

"Julia Blackburn's book gives a far more complete idea of Holiday as an artist than anything else I have read" Guardian "This is a raw, true book that evokes not just the life of the great singer Billie Holiday but an entire jazz era... Blackburn's compelling tale is of whores, drug-pushers, bent policemen and crooked lawyers as well as brilliant musicians, and she brings alive everything she touches" Mail on Sunday "This addition to the tide of Billie Holiday books is extremely welcome. Nowhere else is the context of her life and work so vividly captured" Toni Morrison "Full of vigour and colour...Ms Blackburn's portrait of a unique artist is moving, revealing and quite unforgettable" Economist "Julia Blackburn...has contributed much to the legacy of a remarkable human being" New Statesman

Julia Blackburn has written a number of books of non-fiction, fiction and poetry. The Three of Us won the J. R. Ackerley Award, Threads won the East Anglian Book of the Year Award and the New Angle Prize, Time Song was shortlisted for the Wainwright Book Prize, and Thin Paths was shortlisted for the Costa Prize for Biography. Her two novels, The Book of Colour and The Leper’s Companions, were both shortlisted for the Women’s Prize. She lives in Suffolk and Italy.

"Julia Blackburn's book gives a far more complete idea of Holiday as an artist than anything else I have read" Guardian "This is a raw, true book that evokes not just the life of the great singer Billie Holiday but an entire jazz era... Blackburn's compelling tale is of whores, drug-pushers, bent policemen and crooked lawyers as well as brilliant musicians, and she brings alive everything she touches" Mail on Sunday "This addition to the tide of Billie Holiday books is extremely welcome. Nowhere else is the context of her life and work so vividly captured" Toni Morrison "Full of vigour and colour...Ms Blackburn's portrait of a unique artist is moving, revealing and quite unforgettable" Economist "Julia Blackburn...has contributed much to the legacy of a remarkable human being" New Statesman