Nicholas Cornwell (born 26 November 1972), better known by his pen name Nick Harkaway, is a British novelist and commentator. As Harkaway, he is the author of the novels The Gone-Away World, Angelmaker (which was nominated for the 2013 Arthur C. Clarke Award), Tigerman, Gnomon, Titanium Noir, and Karla's Choice; and a non-fiction study of the digital world, The Blind Giant: Being Human in a Digital World. Cornwell has also written two novels under the pseudonym Aidan Truhen.
Biography Harkaway was born Nicholas Cornwell in Cornwall, the son of the author John le Carré (real name David Cornwell) and his second wife Jane Eustace.
Harkaway was educated at the independent University College School in North London, and Clare College, Cambridge, where he studied philosophy, sociology and politics and took up Shorinji Kan Jiu Jitsu. He worked in the film industry before becoming an author.
Harkaway's first novel,The Gone-Away World, was published in 2008. Originally titled The Wages of Gonzo Lubitsch, it concerns a number of ex-special forces operatives turned truckers who are hired to perform a dangerous mission in a post-apocalyptic world.
In October 2026 Amazon Prime Video will premiere Kill Jackie, the first TV series based on one of Harkaway's books. The show, based on the pseudonymously published novel The Price You Pay, stars Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Personal life Harkaway is married to Clare Algar, an intellectual property lawyer and managing director of John le Carré, Ltd. They have two children.
Views on Google Book settlement
Harkaway has been an outspoken critic of the Google Book Search Settlement Agreement, posting on his blog, speaking out on BBC Radio's The World at One in May 2009, and appearing on a television debate with Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Tom Watson MP in September 2009.
Bibliography Stand-alone fiction The Gone-Away World (2008) Angelmaker (2013) Tigerman (2014) Gnomon (2017)
Non-fiction The Blind Giant (2012)
Short stories "Edie Investigates" (2012) "Keeping Up with the Joneses" (2015) – Doctor Who story collected in Time Trips "Billy Tumult" (2015) – collected in Stories for Chip
The Price You Pay series as Aidan Truhen The Price You Pay (2018) Seven Demons (2021)
Titanium Noir series Titanium Noir (2023) Sleeper Beach (2025)
George Smiley continuation series Karla's Choice (2024) The Taper Man (2026)
Television work Kill Jackie (2026) – writer Legacy of Spies (TBA) – executive producer
References
External links
Review of The Gone-Away World, The Guardian