Charity Norman

Charity Norman is a crime and psychological drama author who lives in New Zealand. She has published eight novels with publishing house Allen & Unwin and was the winner of the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Award for her book Remember Me.

Career Norman worked for 15 years as a barrister specialising in criminal and family law. She was the third female barrister to work at her York chambers. She has said that her experiences in the court systems shape her work as a writer. Norman's first book was not published until 2010, eight years after she began writing full time. While organising her deceased mother's bedroom, Norman developed the idea for her sixth book, Remember Me, which explores a journey with Alzheimer's disease.

List of works

Novels Freeing Grace (2010): Norman's first book explores family and adoption. Set in the UK and Africa. After the Fall aka Second Chances (2012): After the Fall, known as Second Chances in Australia and New Zealand, explores family drama and moral dilemma. It is set in New Zealand, about a family of recent émigrées from Britain. The novel was chosen for the Richard and Judy Book Club 2012 and World Book Night 2012. The New Woman aka The Secret Life of Luke Livingstone (2015): The New Woman explores the transgender journey of Lucia Livingstone, acknowledging the complexity and feelings of Lucia's family, wife and children, as they struggle to understand. The novel was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick 2015. See You in September (2016): See you in September is set in New Zealand, where a young British backpacker finds herself entrenched in a cult. The book follows both her experience within the cult, and the challenges faced by her family on the outside. The novel was a finalist in the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2018. The novel was a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick 2020, shortlisted for the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2021 It won the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2023 (Best Novel). Home Truths (2024): Home Truths follows the journey of Scott, triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, as he loses his grip on truth, and of his wife Livia who is on trial two years later for attempted murder. The novel was a finalist in the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2025, shortlisted in the Ned Kelly Awards 2025 and one of The Listener's Top 100 Books of 2024.

Short stories Norman has published at least two short stories including "Best Served Cold", a spin-off involving characters from See You in September, and a short murder mystery included in Dark Deeds Down Under 2 edited by Craig Sisterson.

Awards Remember Me won the Ngaio Marsh Awards 2023 Best Crime Novel award.