Gerard Woodward

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Gerard Woodward
Born (1961-12-04) 4 December 1961 (age 63)
Enfield, London, England
Education London School of Economics (BSc), University of Greenwich (CertEd), University of Manchester (PgD)
Notable works
Notable awards

Gerard Woodward (born 4 December 1961 in Enfield, London) is a British novelist, poet and short story writer, best known for his trilogy of novels concerning the troubled Jones family, the second of which, I'll Go to Bed at Noon , was shortlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize. As of April 2024, he is a professor of creative writing at Bath Spa University.

Contents

Early life and education

Woodward was born in Enfield, London on 4 December 1961 to Reginald L. and Sylvia Woodward ( née  Walsh). [1] He had four younger siblings. In 1981, his brother Francis died after being struck by a train while drunk. His mother died shortly after. [2]

Woodward attended St Ignatius College, a Jesuit comprehensive school, leaving at 16 to work for two years in a variety of jobs. He later studied painting at Falmouth School of Art in Cornwall, though dropped out in his second year. Woodward ultimately received a Bachelor of Science Honours in social anthropology from London School of Economics, [2] a Certificate in Education from the University of Greenwich, and a postgraduate diploma in social anthropology from the University of Manchester. [3] In 2019, Woodward received an Honorary Doctorate from Middlesex University.[ citation needed ]

Career

In 1989, Woodward won a Eric Gregory Award for poets under 30. [4] He published his first poetry collection, Householder, in 1991; it won the year's Somerset Maugham Award. [2] His later poetry collections include After the Deafening (1994); Island to Island (1999); We Were Pedestrians (2005); and The Seacunny (2012). In 2001, he published his first novel, August, which was the first in a trilogy, followed by I'll Go to Bed at Noon (2004) and A Curious Earth (2007). August was shortlisted for the 2001 Whitbread Award, and I'll Go to Bed at Noon was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. [2] [5] [6] Woodward has since published the short story collection Caravan Thieves (2008) and the novels Nourishment (2010) and Vanishing (2014). [5]

Woodward has been a writer-in-residence at Columbia College Chicago (2011) and the Stockholm University (2013). [3] He has taught or been a writer in residence in many countries including China, Greece, Sweden, Slovenia and Ireland.[ citation needed ] Since 2004, Woodward has worked in the creative writing department at Bath Spa University; [1] as of April 2024, he runs the Ph.D. programme with Tracy Brain. [3] He has been a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 2005. [7]

Awards and honors

In 1989, Woodward won the Eric Gregory Award for poets under age 30. [1] [4] He received an Arts Council England bursary for poetry in 1994 and for fiction in 1999. [1] He has been a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 2005. [7]

Householder (1991) and After The Deafening (1994) have been Poetry Book Society Choice books.[ citation needed ]

Awards for Woodward's writing
YearTitleAwardResultRef.
1992Householder Somerset Maugham Award Winner [1] [2] [5]
1992Householder John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize [5]
1994After the Deafening T. S. Eliot Prize Shortlist
2001 August Whitbread Award for First NovelShortlist [2] [5]
2004I'll Go to Bed at NoonMan Booker Prize for FictionShortlist [2] [5] [6] [8]
2004 Encore Award Shortlist [5]
2005We Were Pedestrians T. S. Eliot Prize Shortlist [5]
2011 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award Shortlist [5]
2014Vanishing Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize Winner [9] [10]
2017 O. Henry Award
2018The Paper Lovers Bad Sex in Fiction Shortlist [11]

Personal life

Woodward met his wife Suzanne Jane Anderson while studying at Falmouth School of Art. [2] He has two children: Corin and Phoebe. [1]

Bibliography

Poetry

Fiction

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Woodward, Gerard (Vaughan) 1961-". Encyclopedia.com . Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Crown, Sarah (23 November 2012). "A life in writing: Gerard Woodward". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 23 November 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 "Gerard Woodward". Bath Spa University . Archived from the original on 23 September 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Eric Gregory Awards". The Society of Authors . 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 14 April 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Gerard Woodward - Literature". British Council . Archived from the original on 26 September 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  6. 1 2 Lyall, Sarah (20 October 2004). "Tale of Gay Life in Britain Wins a Top Literary Prize". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2011.
  7. 1 2 "Woodward, Gerard". Royal Society of Literature . Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  8. ↑ Doran, Amanda-Jane (27 September 2004). "Some Surprises on Booker Shortlist". Publishers Weekly . Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  9. ↑ Haig, Matt (20 June 2014). "What the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered prize reveals". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  10. ↑ "Awards: Jerwood Fiction Uncovered". Shelf Awareness . 23 June 2014. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
  11. ↑ "Awards: Bad Sex in Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness . 3 December 2018. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
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