Lucy Wood (writer)

Last updated
Lucy Wood
Occupation
  • Short story writer
  • novelist
Notable worksDiving Belles
Notable awards BBC National Short Story Award Runner up (2013)

Lucy Wood is a British short story writer and novelist. She has published two short story collections and one novel, all set in Cornwall. She won a Betty Trask Prize in 2016 and was the runner up for the BBC National Short Story Award in 2013.

Contents

Early and personal life

Wood grew up in Cornwall. [1] She got a Master's degree in Creative Writing from Exeter University. [2]

Writing career

Wood's debut short story collection, Diving Belles, was published in 2012. [2] Set in modern Cornwall, its twelve "magic-realist" [3] stories are "wrapped in local mythology". [4] The collection was shortlisted for the 2013 Edge Hill Short Story Prize. [5] A story originally published in this collection, 'Notes From the House Spirits', was the runner up for the BBC National Short Story Award in 2013. [6] [7]

Wood's debut novel, Weathering, was published in 2015. [2] [8] The Guardian said that the novel was set apart by its "extraordinary treatment of the rural setting ... both uncanny and pitilessly realist". [9] The New York Times called it "captivating" and described Wood's writing style as "precise, unindulgent, fresh and honest". [10] The novel won a Betty Trask Prize in 2016. [11]

The Sing of the Shore, Wood's second short story collection, was published in 2018. [12] [13] The thirteen stories are again set in Cornwall, but now in "a world we recognise", [12] where "current concerns facing the region are given more weight". [14] However, The Guardian noted "a kind of eerie tension" that transforms the stories into "heart-thumping miniature thrillers". [12] The collection was shortlisted for the 2019 Edge Hill Short Story Prize. [15] A story from the collection, 'Flotsam, Jetsam, Lagan, Derelict', was selected for The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story. [16]

Wood has also received a Somerset Maugham Award [17] and the Holyer an Gof Award [18] and been longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, [19] the Dylan Thomas Prize, [20] and the Frank O'Connor Award. [21]

Bibliography

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References

  1. ↑ Wood, Lucy (2019-02-02). "Lucy Wood on north Cornwall: 'When gales brew up, there's nowhere to hide'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  2. 1 2 3 Popescu, Lucy (2015-01-16). "Lucy Wood interview: Author of 'Weathering' on how the rural landscape fuels her creativity | The Independent". The Independent. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  3. ↑ "Diving Belles by Lucy Wood". The Times. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "First fiction roundup – reviews". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  5. ↑ "Two Irish Writers on the Edge Hill Prize Shortlist". writing.ie. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  6. ↑ "Sarah Hall wins the BBC National Short Story Award". BBC News. 2013-10-08. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  7. ↑ Perry, Sarah (2015-01-21). "Weathering by Lucy Wood review – a strange and haunting tale". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  8. ↑ East, Ben (2015-02-08). "Weathering review – Lucy Wood's beautifully atmospheric debut". The Observer. ISSN   0029-7712 . Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  9. ↑ "Weathering by Lucy Wood review – a strange and haunting tale". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "'Weathering', by Lucy Wood". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  11. ↑ "Betty Trask Prize". Society of Authors. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Crampton, Caroline (2018-04-25). "The Sing of the Shore by Lucy Wood review – a different view of Cornwall". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  13. ↑ Wagner, Erica (2019-04-10). "Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi review – a modern fairytale". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2024-05-18.
  14. ↑ "Taking things littorally". TLS. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  15. ↑ "Three debuts on Edge Hill Short Story Prize shortlist". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  16. ↑ The Penguin Book of the Contemporary British Short Story. Penguin. 2018. ISBN   978-0241347461.
  17. ↑ "Somerset Maugham Awards". Society of Authors. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  18. ↑ "Holyer an gof publishers' awards for 2013". gorsedhkernow. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  19. ↑ "2017 Longlist Weathering Lucy Wood". Dublin Literary Award. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  20. ↑ "Youngest ever authors make Dylan Thomas Prize longlist". The Bookseller. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
  21. ↑ "Lucy Wood". Edinburgh International Book Festival. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
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