ROSANNA PIKE is a former teacher and diarist for The Evening Standard who lives in south-west London with her family. A graduate of Curtis Brown Creative and the Faber Academy, she was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2020 and shortlisted in 2021. A Little Trickerie was acquired for publication in 2023 in a pre-empt by Penguin and the hardback became a Sunday Times bestseller in 2024. A Little Trickerie publishes in paperback on June 5th, 2025.

Happy paperback publication week for A Little Trickerie! How does this milestone compare to the hardback launch?

Thank you! It definitely feels a bit less scary the second time around and the initial reception is done so I feel I can just enjoy the events around publication. 

For those yet to discover your book, how would you describe it and how did you pitch it?

It is a book about finding your own space in the world and being loud and proud of who you are and what you stand for.  It is about challenging authority and facing up to your demons. I pitched it as: A Little Trickerie explores the extraordinary true story of the Holy Maid of Leominster, a Tudor con-artist who pretended to be an angel in a church in Herefordshire, amassing a cult following and a lot of money. 

You’re represented by Katie Greenstreet at Paper Literary. What’s your how-I-found-my-agent story? 

I did a course at Curtis Brown Creative a couple of years ago and a few agents there expressed a potential interest in the novel I was writing at the time, but nothing materialised. I then wrote A Little Trickerie and got back in touch with one of the Curtis Brown agents who said she thought her ex-colleague Katie Greenstreet would love it, so I sent it to her and she replied at once asking for the whole manuscript, and offering representation soon after that. She is an amazing agent. 

Tell us about A Little Trickerie listing for the Women’s Prize 2025. How did you hear the news and what have been your standout moments? 

My editor Helen called me one evening and I missed the calls as I was bathing my children. My daughter was only about a month old so there hadn’t been much time for thinking about anything book-related! By the time I (finally!) got downstairs and saw the missed calls Helen had texted me as well saying she had news. It was almost 10pm but I called her back anyway. It was such a wonderful surprise. 

An earlier manuscript longlisted with us back in 2020, then  A Little Trickerie (formerly titled Something of a Hoax) shot onto our 2021 shortlist. What did these early listings mean to you?

They meant everything because it was the first validation I got and the first suggestion that people might enjoy my writing. I found it a huge boost and an extra motivation, knowing that someone completely unbiased had liked what they read.  

We all love the final title – who came up with it and how?

We did lots of thinking about the title once we decided the word hoax was too anachronistic to use. It was my editor Helen who came up with A Little Trickerie and I think it really suits the quirky style of the book. 

A Little Trickerie has such a fantastic opening line: “Ma had said she would give the cordwainer man a baby — the thing he could not get from his dull-as-ditchwater wife — and we would get a roof in return.” When in your writing process did that arrive?

I’m pretty sure the first line arrived as soon as the voice came into my head. It was the first thing I wrote down and that line didn’t really change much at all from the first draft to the final copy. 

Julia Silk, our 2021 judge said: “The first few pages of this historical novel were one of the best openings I’ve ever read, the writing fizzes with energy throughout, and I adored the author’s unique voice.” Do you have any tips on crafting compelling opening pages?

I would say the main aim is to stand out. Say something funny or surprising or different, and don’t worry about any descriptions until a bit later. You need to grab the reader and pull them into your world with action. Make your reader ask questions that must be answered and make them care about the central character as soon as possible. 

Our readers were swept up in your storyline, alternately laughing and crying through the hilarious and heartbreaking moments. Are you able to pinpoint any of the techniques you deployed to pull this off?

When I did a course at Curtis Brown Creative the tutor Charlotte Mendelson told us about a writing technique called “fortunately unfortunately” where each scene or chapter alternates- with something good happening then something bad followed by something good and so on. I think this was in the back of my mind when I wrote the book- like a kind of balancing act in terms of the reader’s journey. 

Tibb bursts off the page, full of wit, verve and determination and a unique voice that is by turn heartbreakingly matter-of-fact, optimistic and bawdy. How did you arrive at her voice?

It’s probably an annoying answer but the voice really did just pop into my head as soon as I had the framework of the story clear in my mind. I always really enjoy voice-driven novels so it made sense to go down this route and I found it a really wonderful experience to write in a unique dialect. 

You’ve mentioned that you treat the synopsis as gold, writing it for months in great detail before starting the writing. Do you always stick to the original premise and does this approach help you to reduce the number of drafts?

I do try to stick to the original premise although I allow for quite a bit of rehashing in terms of the plot. I add backstory as I go along as well. I am (very!) bad at tinkering though, so I always seem to have a newest draft and I find it hard to actually stop and declare it finished. 

A Little Trickerie is a tale of hope and superstition. What do you hope readers take away from your book and do you have any writerly superstitions?

I hope readers find it uplifting- I love the message of being yourself and celebrating diversity so I hope that resonates. In terms of superstitions, I don’t have any specifically but I am not overly keen on sharing early versions of the book. My husband and sisters were the first people to read a draft of A Little Trickerie but this was well after I had the book deal with Penguin and had done the first edit! And the thought of someone reading over my shoulder as I type a first draft is absolutely the worst!  

What’s next for you as a writer?

I am working on my second book which is about a female pamphleteer in Elizabethan London. Like A Little Trickerie, it is based on a true story and I am finding it a lot of fun to write. The main character is so different to Tibb but equally as feisty!

Lastly, do you have any advice for writers thinking of entering the Bath Novel Award 2025?

It’s such a well-respected and celebrated prize. Absolutely go for it and give it your best shot- I’m so glad I did. 

THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘Striking, darkly funny and heartfelt … Grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go’ Ferdia Lennon, author of Glorious Exploits

‘Crisp, transportive, uplifting … I loved it!’ Bonnie Garmus, author of Lessons in Chemistry

‘A bold, funny and imaginative journey through Tudor England … A real treat’ Joanna Quinn, author of The Whalebone Theatre

Born a vagabond, Tibb Ingleby has never had a roof of her own. Her mother has taught her that if you’re not too bound by the Big Man’s rules, there are many ways a woman can find shelter in this world. But now her ma is gone.

As she journeys through the fields and forests of medieval England, Tibb discovers that there are people who will care for her, as well as those who mean her harm. And there are a great many others who are prepared to believe just about anything…

So, when the opportunity presents itself to escape the shackles society has placed on them, Tibb and her new friends conjure an audacious plan: her greatest trickerie yet. But before they know it, their hoax takes on a life of its own, drawing crowds – and vengeful enemies – to their door.

A tale of belief and superstition, kinship and courage, A Little Trickerie introduces a ragtag cast of characters and an unforgettable, endearing and distinctly unangelic heroine.

Bookshop.org make a small contribution to our sponsored entry scheme at no charge to you on every book purchased through the Bath Novel Awards Bookshop  page.

‘Joyful and highly original … Rosanna Pike absolutely nails Tibb’s voice’ The Times

‘Absolutely raucous and vividly alive’ India Knight

‘[Written] with great panache … A book [that] is unapologetically itself … Lovable, fun and emotionally juicy’ Guardian