The launch event of our Upstairs Book Social series, the first in a new quarterly series celebrating all things literary.
To kick things off, Marcia Hutchinson, author of The Women’s Prize shortlisted The Mercy Step, will be in conversation with Sarah Odedina (Editor-at-Large at Pushkin Press) about her debut novel.
The event will explore Marcia’s journey to publication, including the challenges she faced, how she found her voice later in life, and the real-life inspiration behind the book. The Mercy Step will be available to purchase at the event.
Tickets are £5 each and includes a complimentary drink.
Marcia will be in conversation about finding her literary voice later in life, her journey to publication (which included numerous rejections before finding her perfect publisher) and the inspiration for her fabulous story.
THE MERCY STEP has brought an exciting new literary creation to life: a child whose perspective on the world is both innocent and wise revealed in a rich story of domestic life, of resilience and determination.
Bradford, December 1962.
A precocious Mercy makes her reluctant entrance into the world, torn from the warm embrace of her mother’s womb, to a chaotic household that seems to have no place for her. Her siblings do not understand her, her mother’s attention is given to the Church, and the entire family lives at the whims of her father’s quick temper.
Left to herself, Mercy finds solace in books, her imagination, and the quiet comfort of her faithful toy, Dolly. But escapism has its limits, and as the grip of family, faith and fear threatens to close in, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future; one where she is seen, heard, and her family set free.
The Mercy Step is a sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion, and her refusal to be broken.
Born in Bradford to Windrush generation parents, Marcia Hutchinson was the first from her family to go to university and first from her comprehensive school to attend Oxford University.
After studying law she became a solicitor and then set up educational publishers’ Primary Colours whose aim was decolonising the curriculum. She was awarded an MBE for services to cultural diversity in 2011.
Her debut solo novel The Mercy Step, inspired by her childhood in 1960’s Bradford, was published in July 2025. It was included in The Observer’s list of best debut novels of 2025, Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and Shortlisted for the Bookseller Discover Award.
Together with Kate Griffin she also writes historical fiction under the pen name of Lila Cain, whose debut novel The Blackbirds of Saint Giles was published in January 2025. Its sequel The Nightingale of Covent Garden will be published in January 2027.
When not writing Marcia has developed a cult following for her Zumba classes at gyms across Manchester. Her students have even set up their own book club with The Mercy Step as their first ever read.
THE MERCY STEP is available to buy from all good bookshops.
Buy a Ticket here
