Trisha Ashley


Trisha Ashley is a British author of romantic fiction. She has written over 27 novels, many of them Sunday Times Bestsellers, and has also published short stories and poetry. She was nominated for The Constable Trophy for Northern Writers in the 1980s, the Melissa Nathan Award for Romantic Comedy in 2009 and 2010, and the RoNA Award for Romantic Comedy Novel in 2018 and 2021. In 2024, her novel The Wedding Dress Repair Shop won the RoNA Award for Popular Fiction. In 2010 her novel Every Woman for Herself was voted one of The Three Best Romantic Novels of the Last 50 Years by the readers of Woman's Weekly in association with the Romantic Novelists Association.

Personal life

Ashley was born in St Helens, in the front room over her mother's shoe shop. She has had published poetry in the local newspaper before she reached her teens. Having failed her 11+, she attended Rivington Secondary School. Her secondary school English teacher, Miss White, encouraged her writing and arranged for her to learn to touch type, which proved increasingly invaluable over the years as her vision has steadily deteriorated.
She later studied Architectural glass at Swansea School of Art. Before turning to writing full time, she held a wide variety of part-time jobs, including working for a lead light maker and as a plumber. Ashley is divorced, with one son, and now lives in North Wales.

Writing

Ashley's early novels were domestic satires, with a brief diversion into historical romance. When one of her satires was shortlisted for The Constable Trophy for Northern Writers in the 1980s, she began, with the encouragement of her agent, Judith Murdoch, to move towards romantic comedy. Ashley has had over 20 novels published in this genre, many of them Sunday Times Bestsellers. Her first major success was with Twelve Days of Christmas. Her novels have been translated into many languages including Italian, Portuguese, German and Russian. Her latest novel is The Wedding Dress Repair Shop.

Novels

  • Good Husband Material
  • The Urge to Jump
  • Every Woman for Herself
  • Singled Out
  • The Generous Gardener
  • Sweet Nothings
  • Lord Rayven's Revenge
  • Happy Endings
  • Sowing Secrets
  • A Winter's Tale
  • Wedding Tiers
  • Chocolate Wishes
  • Twelve Days of Christmas
  • The Magic of Christmas
  • Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues
  • Wish Upon a Star
  • Creature Comforts
  • A Christmas Cracker
  • A Leap of Faith
  • The Little Teashop of Lost and Found
  • A Good Heart is Hard to Find
  • The House of Hopes and Dreams
  • Written from the Heart
  • The Christmas Invitation
  • The Garden of Forgotten Wishes
  • One More Christmas at the Castle
  • The Wedding Dress Repair Shop
  • The Book of Lost Stories
  • A Recipe for Romance
  • ''The Christmas Retreat''

    Short stories

  • Finding Mr. Rochester
  • A Piece of Cake
  • Footsteps in the Snow
  • ''A Vintage Christmas''

    Anthologies

  • Loves Me, Loves Me Not
  • Fabulous at Fifty
  • They Can't Take That Away From Me
  • ''Women Aloud''

    Awards

  • 1980s – Shortlisted for The Constable Trophy for Northern Writers for My Place in the Country
  • 2009 – Shortlisted for The Melissa Nathan Award for A Winter's Tale
  • 2010 – Shortlisted for The Melissa Nathan Award for Every Woman for Herself
  • 2010 – Voted one of the Top 3 Best Romantic Novels of the Last 50 Years by the readers of Woman's Weekly in conjunction with the Romantic Novelists Association for Every Woman for Herself
  • 2018 – Shortlisted for the RoNAs Romantic Comedy Novel ''Award for The Little Teashop of Lost and Found
  • 2021 – Shortlisted for the RoNAs Romantic Comedy Novel Award for The Garden of Forgotten Wishes
  • 2024 – Winner of the RoNAs Popular Romantic Fiction Award for The Wedding Dress Repair Shop''

    The Trisha Ashley Award

was set up to encourage new writers and is an annual prize for a short story, in conjunction with Creative Writing Matters. It was awarded from 2017 to 2022.

TAA Winning Authors

  • 2017 – Andrew Stiggers for Fields of Mud
  • 2018 – Louise Farr for Moon Jellies
  • 2019 – Ilaria Warren for Foie Gras
  • 2020 – Jo Holmwood for Rock
  • 2021 – Catherine Ogston for Ten Steps to Mending a Broken Heart
  • 2022 – Aneeta Sundararaj for ''A Love Letter''