James Aitcheson is a novelist, medieval historian, and literary consultant. He has been a professional writer since 2010 and is the author of four novels set in the Middle Ages, which have been published in the UK, the US, Germany and the Czech Republic. The Harrowing (Heron, 2016) was a Book of the Month in The Times.
James is a postdoctoral Research Associate at the Leverhulme Centre for Humanity and Space (University of Leicester). His research explores astronomy in the Early Middle Ages (c. 500–1100) and representations of space in contemporary literature (since c. 1990). He previously taught Creative Writing at the University of Nottingham and at Sheffield Hallam University.
He is an alumnus of the University of Cambridge, where he studied History. In 2021, he received his PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Nottingham. His thesis explored historical fiction, how it is constructed, and its objectives, responsibilities, and possible future directions.
As a literary consultant, James runs writing workshops, masterclasses and other events for clients including English Heritage and The British Academy, and provides editorial and mentoring services, working with emerging and established writers alike. He is a member of TLC’s Editorial Committee.
James’s short fiction has been shortlisted for the Edinburgh True Flash Award (2025) and published in the New Nottingham Journal (2026). He has been shortlisted for Historic Photographer of the Year (2018), was a finalist in the Bridgestone e-Reporter international motorsports journalism training programme (2008), and has written for written for the online editions of History Today and BBC History Magazine, the official Formula 1 website, and ESPN Cricinfo.
For TLC James reads Historical Fiction