Gail Honeyman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1973 (age 50–51) Stirling, Scotland |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist, university administrator |
| Language | English |
| Alma mater | University of Glasgow University of Oxford |
| Notable works | Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (2017) |
| Notable awards | Costa Book Award–First Novel (2017) |
Gail Honeyman (born 1972 [1] ) is a Scottish writer [2] whose debut novel, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine , won the 2017 Costa First Novel Award. [3]
Born and raised in Stirling in central Scotland [3] to a mother who worked as a civil servant and a father in science, [4] Honeyman was a voracious reader in her childhood, visiting the library "a ridiculous number of times a week". [4] [5]
She studied French language and literature at the University of Glasgow before continuing her education at the University of Oxford with a postgraduate course in French poetry. However, she decided that an academic career was not for her and started a string of "backroom jobs", first as a civil servant in economic development and then as an administrator at the University of Glasgow. [6]
While working as an administrator, Honeyman enrolled in a Faber Academy writing course, [5] submitting the first three chapters of what would become Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine to a competition for unpublished fiction by female writers, run by Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. [6] The novel, published in 2017, went on to earn numerous awards and wide critical acclaim. [3]
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine won the 2017 Costa First Novel Award, and since then Honeyman has been interviewed often, including by The Guardian , The Daily Telegraph and Waterstones. Of her relationship with the book's titular character she told The Daily Telegraph: "Eleanor Oliphant isn't me, or anyone I know [but] of course I've felt loneliness – everybody does". [7]
In January 2018, Honeyman said she was working on a new novel, "set in a different period and location." [6] A book with the acting title Gail Honeyman Untitled Book 2 (Harper Collins, ISBN 9780008172169) has been listed with publication date 12 September 2024 [8] or 27 February 2025. [9]
 | This award section needs additional citations for verification .(September 2024) |
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine | Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards | Popular Fiction | Shortlisted | |
| Costa Book Awards | First Novel | Won | |||
| Waverton Good Read Award | — | Won | |||
| 2018 | Audie Award | Fiction | Finalist | ||
| Australian Book Industry Awards | International Book | Shortlisted | |||
| Authors' Club First Novel Award | — | Won | |||
| Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards | Readers' Choice | Won | |||
| British Book Award | Début Book of the Year | Won | |||
| The British Book Industry Awards | Overall | Won | |||
| Début Book of the Year | Won | ||||
| Desmond Elliott Prize | — | Shortlisted | |||
| Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award | — | Shortlisted | |||
| Independent Booksellers' Book Prize | — | Shortlisted | |||
| RUSA CODES Reading List | Women's Fiction | Shortlisted | |||
| 2019 | Comedy Women in Print Prize | Published Comedy Novel | Shortlisted | ||
| International Dublin Literary Award | — | Longlisted |
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