Claire Adam

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Claire Adam
Born Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
OccupationWriter
NationalityTrinidad and Tobago
Republic of Ireland
Alma mater Brown University;
Goldsmiths, University of London
Notable works Golden Child (2019)
Notable awards Desmond Elliott Prize
McKitterick Prize

Claire Adam (born 1973/1974) [1] is a Trinidad and Tobago-born author whose first novel Golden Child triggered critical acclaim. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

On 5 November 2019, the BBC News listed Golden Child on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels. [3] Adam's second novel, Love Forms , was longlisted for the Booker Prize in July 2025. [5]

Biography

Claire Adam was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, the youngest of four children. Her father was a doctor and university lecturer at the University of the West Indies. Her mother, also a doctor, is Irish. After having children, her mother stopped practising medicine. [6]

Leaving Trinidad at the age of 18, [6] Adam went to the United States, where she studied Physics at Brown University. [7] She then lived for some years in Italy and Ireland, before settling in London, England. [8] She earned an MA degree in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she began work on her first novel, Golden Child (2019), which was awarded the 2019 Desmond Elliott Prize for best debut novel. [9] Golden Child also won the 2020 McKitterick Prize, the 2019 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, and was longlisted for the Jhalak Prize and the Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award. [10]

Adam's second novel, Love Forms, was longlisted for the 2025 Booker Prize. [11]

Awards and recognition

YearWorkAwardCategoryResultRef
2019 Golden Child Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award FictionWon [12]
Desmond Elliott Prize —Won [13] [14]
2020 Authors' Club Best First Novel Award —Won [15] [16]
Diverse Book AwardsAdult2nd Place [17] [18]
Edinburgh International Book Festival's First Book Award —Longlisted
Jhalak Prize —Longlisted [16] [19]
McKitterick Prize —Won [20]
2025 Love Forms Booker Prize —Longlisted [11]

Works

References

  1. ↑ Peirson-Hagger, Ellen (14 June 2025). "Claire Adam: 'I stress all day, then write at night'". The Observer . Retrieved 2 August 2025.
  2. ↑ Buchanan, Rowan Hisayo (3 January 2019). "Golden Child by Claire Adam review – which son would you choose?". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 November 2019.
  3. 1 2 "100 'most inspiring' novels revealed by BBC Arts". BBC News . 5 November 2019. Retrieved 10 November 2019. The reveal kickstarts the BBC's year-long celebration of literature.
  4. ↑ Jacob, Debbie (21 October 2019). "Honest, raw look at Trinidad". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday . Retrieved 10 November 2019. Then I discovered the Trinidadian novel that will haunt me forever. Golden Child, by Claire Adam, is the novel I have been waiting to read since Miguel Street. I certainly don't wish to discount all the great novels that define TT, but what makes this novel special and different is that it is truly an international novel that just happens to be set in Trinidad.
  5. ↑ Bachoo, Ryan (16 August 2025). "Claire Adam longlisted for Booker Prize". Trinidad & Tobago Guardian . Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  6. 1 2 Laughlin, Nicholas (January–February 2019). "Claire Adam: 'I've always felt, ask me where I'm from!' | Own words". Caribbean Beat (155). Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Claire Adam". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  8. ↑ "Claire Adam". Writers Mosaic. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "Claire Adam". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Participants | Claire Adam". Bocas Lit Fest. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  11. 1 2 Creamer, Ella (29 July 2025). "Most global Booker prize longlist in a decade features Kiran Desai and Tash Aw". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Reid, Calvin (31 January 2020). "Adam, Young Win B&N 2019 Discover New Writers Awards". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  13. ↑ "Desmond Elliott Prize". National Centre for Writing | NCW. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  14. ↑ "SJP for Hogarth Author Claire Adam Wins Desmond Elliott Prize for GOLDEN CHILD". penguinrandomhouse.com. 21 June 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  15. ↑ "Best First Novel Award". The Authors' Club Since 1891. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  16. 1 2 "Claire Adam Wins Authors Club Best First Novel Award". RCW Literary Agency. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  17. ↑ "2020 WINNERS". The DB Awards. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  18. ↑ locusmag (31 July 2020). "2020 Diverse Book Awards Longlist". Locus Online. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  19. ↑ "2020". Jhalak Prize. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
  20. ↑ "McKitterick Prize - The Society of Authors". 8 May 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2024.


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