Graeme Armstrong (author)

Last updated

Graeme Armstrong
Graeme Armstrong in 2020.jpg
Born1991
Airdrie, Scotland
Alma mater University of Stirling
Notable awards

Graeme Armstrong (born 1991) [1] is a Scottish author best known for his debut novel, The Young Team. The novel won the 2021 Betty Trask Award and Somerset Maugham Award, [2] [3] and was Scots Language Awards 'Scots Book of the Year' in the same year. The Young Team is currently being adapted for television by Synchronicity Films. [4]

Contents

In April 2023, Granta included Armstrong on their 'Best of Young British Novelists' list, [5] [6] an honour presented every ten years to the twenty most significant British novelists under forty. [7]

Biography

Armstrong (right) as a young gang member in Airdrie, 2006 Graeme Armstrong as a young gang member, Airdrie 2006.jpg
Armstrong (right) as a young gang member in Airdrie, 2006

Armstrong is from Airdrie, Scotland. [8] [9] As a teenager was involved with North Lanarkshire's gang culture as a member of the 'Young Mavis', from Glenmavis. [8] [10] At fourteen, he was expelled from Airdrie Academy and began attending Coatbridge High School, where he joined another gang, the 'Lang El Toi' (LL TOI) from Langloan, Coatbridge. [9]

Aged sixteen, following the deaths of three friends by heroin overdose [1] and after reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, Armstrong pursued a route into higher education, and began to break away from gang life. [11] [10] During his time in gangs, he struggled with alcohol abuse, drug addiction and violence. [12] [9] Armstrong "stopped taking drugs on Christmas Day 2012" and speaks candidly about having a Christian faith. His experiences inspired his debut novel, The Young Team, which is written in West Central Scots language. [8] [9] [10] [13]

In 2013, Armstrong received a 2:1 Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degree in English Studies from the University of Stirling [12] and returned there to complete a Master of Letters in Creative Writing, graduating with Merit in 2015. [12] [10] As of 2023, he is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. [14]

Armstrong hosts workshops and conferences around youth violence, substance abuse and gang culture in schools and prisons. [9] He has worked with the Violence Reduction Unit and Community Justice Scotland [15] and other organisations involved in violence prevention, such as Medics Against Violence [16] from Glasgow. In 2022, he spoke at the annual School Leaders Scotland conference and continues to work within the community. [17] [18]

In 2021, Armstrong wrote and starred in a short film for the Edinburgh International Book Festival Infectious Nihilism and Small Metallic Pieces of Hope [19] directed by James Price. [20] Later that year, he presented a BBC documentary, Scotland the Rave with IWC Media, which was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA Scotland and Royal Television Society Scotland award. [21]

At the 2023 Education Scotland 'Scottish Attainment Challenge' conference, Armstrong gave a keynote speech based around his lived experience of education, gang violence, substance misuse and recovery from addiction. [22]

During the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2023, Armstrong hosted James Kelman and spoke around difficulties in working-class representation, "cultural banishment" and Kelman's new work, 'God's Teeth and Other Phenomena'. [23]

Armstrong wrote and presented a three-part BBC Scotland documentary series, Street Gangs [24] [25] exploring current Scottish gang culture, including the recent impact of social media, drill music / roadman culture, and his lived experience as an ex-gang member, which aired in October 2023 and is featured on BBC iPlayer. [26] [27] [28]

Armstrong is an ambassador for The Hope Collective, a London-based anti-violence organisation, formed originally to support the 20th anniversary legacy campaign for Damilola Taylor. [29]

In June 2024, New College Lanarkshire inducted Armstrong as an honorary lecturer to celebrate the launch of their Undergraduate School in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland, offering the first degree level study in North Lanarkshire [30] [31] , alongside others including author and broadcaster Damian Barr, a fellow North Lanarkshire native.

Awards and honours

In April 2023, Granta included Armstrong on their "Best of Young British Novelists" list, [5] [6] an honour presented every ten years "to the twenty most significant British novelists under forty." [7]

Awards for Armstrong's writing and broadcast media
YearTitleAwardResultRef.
2021The Young Team Society of Authors Betty Trask Award Winner [2]
Scots Language AwardsScots Book of the YearWinner [32]
Saltire Society Literary Award Scottish First Book of the YearShortlist [33]
Society of Authors Somerset Maugham Award Winner [34] [3]
2022Scotland the Rave BAFTA Scotland Single DocumentaryNominee [35]
RTS Scotland Documentary and Specialist FactualNominee [36]
The Cloud Factory Granta Best of Young British Novelists Winner [37] [38] [39]

Publication

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanarkshire</span> Historic county in Scotland

Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark, is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. The county is no longer used for local government purposes, but gives its name to the two modern council areas of North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motherwell F.C.</span> Association football club in Motherwell, Scotland

Motherwell Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. Motherwell have not dropped out of the top-flight of Scottish football since 1985, and have lifted one trophy in that time – the Scottish Cup in 1991.

The Glasgow dialect, also called Glaswegian, varies from Scottish English at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum to the local dialect of West Central Scots at the other. Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegians can draw on a "continuum between fully localised and fully standardised". Additionally, the Glasgow dialect has Highland English and Hiberno-English influences owing to the speech of Highlanders and Irish people who migrated in large numbers to the Glasgow area in the 19th and early 20th centuries. While being named for Glasgow, the accent is typical for natives across the full Greater Glasgow area and associated counties such as Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, Dunbartonshire and parts of Ayrshire, which formerly came under the single authority of Strathclyde. It is most common in working class people, which can lead to stigma from members of other classes or those outside Glasgow.

<i>Granta</i> British literary magazine and publisher

Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated: "In its blend of memoirs and photojournalism, and in its championing of contemporary realist fiction, Granta has its face pressed firmly against the window, determined to witness the world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamila Shamsie</span> Pakistani and British writer and novelist (born 1973)

Kamila Shamsie FRSL is a Pakistani and British writer and novelist who is best known for her award-winning novel Home Fire (2017). Named on Granta magazine's list of 20 best young British writers, Shamsie has been described by The New Indian Express as "a novelist to reckon with and to look forward to." She also writes for publications including The Guardian, New Statesman, Index on Censorship and Prospect, and broadcasts on radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kelman</span> Scottish writer (born 1946)

James Kelman is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, playwright and essayist. His fiction and short stories feature accounts of internal mental processes of usually, but not exclusively, working class narrators and their labyrinthine struggles with authority or social interactions, mostly set in his home city of Glasgow. Frequently employing stream of consciousness experimentation, Kelman's stories typically feature "an atmosphere of gnarling paranoia, imprisoned minimalism, the boredom of survival.".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easterhouse</span> Housing estate and suburb of Glasgow, Scotland

Easterhouse is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, 6 miles (10 km) east of the city centre on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of an expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. The area is on high ground north of the River Clyde and south of the River Kelvin and Campsie Fells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Rail Class 334</span> British suburban electric multiple-unit passenger train

The British Rail Class 334 Coradia Juniper is a suburban electric multiple unit passenger train built by Alstom in Birmingham. They are part of Alstom's Coradia Juniper family of trains, along with Classes 458 and 460.

Gang-related organised crime in the United Kingdom is concentrated around the cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool and regionally across the West Midlands region, south coast and northern England, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. With regard to street gangs the cities identified as having the most serious gang problems, which accounted for 65% of firearm homicides in England and Wales, were London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Glasgow in Scotland also has a historical gang culture with the city having as many teenage gangs as London, which had six times the population, in 2008.

Tahmima Anam is a Bangladeshi-born British writer, novelist and columnist. Her first novel, A Golden Age (2007), was the Best First Book winner of the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prizes. Her follow-up novel, The Good Muslim, was nominated for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize. She is the granddaughter of Abul Mansur Ahmed and daughter of Mahfuz Anam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Leonard-Morgan</span> Scottish composer (born 1974)

Paul Leonard-Morgan is a Scottish composer particularly known for his work in scoring for television and film. He won a Scottish BAFTA for the film Reflections upon the Origin of the Pineapple (2000), which was his first film score.

A ned is a hooligan, lout or petty criminal in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadifa Mohamed</span> Somali-British novelist (born 1981)

Nadifa Mohamed is a Somali-British novelist. She featured on Granta magazine's list "Best of Young British Novelists" in 2013, and in 2014 on the Africa39 list of writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature. Her 2021 novel, The Fortune Men, was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, making her the first British Somali novelist to get this honour. She has also written short stories, essays, memoirs and articles in outlets including The Guardian, and contributed poetry to the anthology New Daughters of Africa. Mohamed was also a lecturer in Creative Writing in the Department of English at Royal Holloway, University of London until 2021. She will be Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University in Spring 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stuart Armstrong</span> Scottish footballer (born 1992)

Stuart Armstrong is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Southampton and the Scotland national team.

Evelyn Rose Strange "Evie" Wyld is an Anglo-Australian author. Her first novel, After the Fire, A Still Small Voice, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 2009, and her second novel, All the Birds, Singing, won the Encore Award in 2013 and the Miles Franklin Award in 2014. Her third novel, The Bass Rock, won the Stella Prize in 2021.

Dr Jenni Fagan FRSL is a Scottish novelist and poet. She has written several books including fiction novel The Panopticon, screenplays and several books of poetry. She was named Scottish writer of the year 2016 by The Glasgow Herald. In 2023, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Gray</span> Scottish politician (born 1986)

Neil Charles Gray is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), he has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Airdrie & Shotts since 2021. Gray previously served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the equivalent Westminster seat from 2015 to 2021. He served as Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy from 2023 to 2024, and Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development from 2022 to 2023.

Sara Baume is an Irish novelist. She was named on Granta magazine's "Best of Young British Novelists" list 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talisk</span> Scottish folk band

Talisk are a Scottish folk band composed of Mohsen Amini, Benedict Morris, and Charlie Galloway. The band rose to prominence after winning the 2015 BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award and the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards "Folk Band of the Year" category in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airdrie North (ward)</span>

Airdrie North is one of the twenty-one wards used to elect members of North Lanarkshire Council. It elects four councillors and covers northern and eastern parts of Airdrie plus the outlying villages of Caldercruix, Wattston, Plains and Glenmavis. Established in 2007, a boundary review in 2017 resulted in a very minor change. In 2019, the ward's population was 20,137.

References

  1. 1 2 Villalba, Juanjo (21 December 2022). "Graeme Armstrong: 'Nostalgia has its place but there is a younger Scottish generation, their stories matter'". EL PAÍS English. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Betty Trask Prize". The Society of Authors . 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Somerset Maugham Awards". The Society of Authors . 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  4. Ravindran, Manori (19 April 2021). "'The Young Team,' Acclaimed Novel About Scotland Gang Culture, Gets TV Adaptation By Synchronicity Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 Schaub, Michael (13 April 2023). "'Granta' Names 20 Best Young British Novelists". Kirkus Reviews . Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. 1 2 Shaffi, Sarah (13 April 2023). "Granta reveals its pick of future star British novelists". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Best of Young British Novelists 5". Granta . Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 Preston, Alex (22 February 2020). "Graeme Armstrong: 'When I stopped taking drugs, I felt a kind of loneliness'". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 O'Neill, Christina (19 May 2021). "Graeme Armstrong on The Young Team, leaving the gang life behind and his journey to literary success". GlasgowLive. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 'I walked into uni as a ned and left with a Masters', Laura Boyd, STV News, 22 May 2021
  11. "Ex-gang member and Young Team author Graeme Armstrong on the lonely road to redemption". HeraldScotland. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  12. 1 2 3 "Graeme Armstrong". Pan Macmillan . Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  13. "Graeme Armstrong – Standard English is oor Second Language". Literature Alliance Scotland. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  14. "Two Strathclyders on once-a-decade Best Young British Novelists list". www.strath.ac.uk. University of Strathclyde. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  15. "Community justice exhibition opens at University of Stirling | About". University of Stirling. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  16. BBC Scotland. "A brush with death led Callum to make a life changing decision". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  17. "School Leaders Scotland – Take a leap and join the leaders!" . Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  18. "Graeme Armstrong". Blake Friedmann. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  19. Infectious Nihilism and Small Metallic Pieces of Hope (Short 2021) - IMDb , retrieved 15 May 2023
  20. Reading Scotland: Graeme Armstrong, Welcome tae Airdrie , retrieved 15 May 2023
  21. "Graeme Armstrong — News". Blake Friedmann. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  22. "Why the Scottish Attainment Challenge requires even more collective action | Tes". www.tes.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  23. "Watch online: James Kelman: Class Act". www.edbookfest.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  24. "BBC Scotland - Street Gangs, Series 1, Episode 1". BBC. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  25. 1 2 "New BBC documentary on 'young team' culture to air next week". Glasgow Times. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  26. "Writer who left life of violence behind to present BBC Scotland gang culture series". The Scotsman. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  27. "Tern TV - Home Page". Tern. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  28. Wray, Daniel Dylan (16 October 2023). "'I've never been more dangerous than when I was 14': an ex-member of Scotland's teen gangs fights back". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  29. "Ambassadors". Hopecollective. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  30. "College and university partnership launches first joint undergraduate school". The Herald. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  31. "Undergraduate Degrees". New College Lanarkshire. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  32. "Top Scots tips from Scots Book o the Year 2021 winner Graeme Armstrong". Scottish Book Trust. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  33. "Scotland's National Book Awards 2021 Shortlists". The Saltire Society . Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  34. "Graeme Armstrong". Blake Friedmann. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  35. "2022 Scotland Single Documentary | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  36. "RTS Scotland Awards 2022 | Winners". Royal Television Society. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  37. "Graeme Armstrong". Granta. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  38. Teddy Jamieson (20 April 2023). "Granta: Novelists list shows how much society has changed for better". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  39. "Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list". BBC News. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  40. 1 2 "The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  41. "La gang". Guanda (in Italian). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  42. "The Young Team | Automática Editorial". automaticaeditorial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  43. "Gutter". Gutter. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  44. "The Middle of a Sentence: Short Prose Anthology". Books from Scotland. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  45. "Stryvling Press". 22 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  46. "The Jakit, Mysticism n PPK Resurrection by Graeme Armstrong". Scottish Book Trust. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  47. "The Cloud Factory". 27 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.