Poet, rapper, playwright and novelist Kate Tempest grew up in south-east London, where she still lives. Her epic poem, Brand New Ancients - a modern-day myth set in south London - won the Ted Hughes Prize for innovation in poetry in 2013, making her the first-ever recipient under 40. Her plays include GlassHouse, Wasted and Hopelessly Devoted. Her debut solo album, Everybody Down, a narrative-led hip hop record based on The Bricks that Built the Houses, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize 2014. Kate Tempest's second poetry collection, Hold Your Own was published in 2014, when she was also named by the Poetry Society as a Next Generation Poet, a once a decade accolade. The Bricks that Built the Houses is her first novel.