Jon McGregor

Jon McGregor
Born Jon McGregor
1976 (age 39–40)
Bermuda[1]
Occupation Writer
Nationality British, Bermudan
Period 2002–present
Genre
  • Novel
  • short story
Notable works
Notable awards Somerset Maugham Award
2003
Betty Trask Prize
2003
International Dublin Literary Award
2012
Website
www.jonmcgregor.com

Jon McGregor (born 1976) is a British novelist and short story writer. In 2002, his first novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize as its youngest contender. His second novel was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2006. In 2012, his third novel was awarded the International Dublin Literary Award. The New York Times has labelled him a "wicked British writer".[2]

Early life

Born in Bermuda, McGregor was raised in the UK.[1] He grew up in Norwich and Thetford, Norfolk. He studied for a degree in Media Technology and Production at Bradford University. In his final year there he contributed a series entitled "Cinema 100" to the anthology Five Uneasy Pieces (Pulp Faction).

Career

Having moved to Nottingham (where he now lives), he wrote his first novel, If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, while living on a narrowboat.[3] It was nominated for the 2002 Booker Prize, making its author the youngest contender and only first novelist on the longlist. McGregor was only 26 at the time.[4]

If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things went on to win the Betty Trask Prize and the Somerset Maugham Award, among other honours. His novel So Many Ways to Begin, published in 2006, also found its way onto the Booker Prize longlist. McGregor was commissioned to write a short story, which was called "Close", for the Cheltenham Literature Festival in 2007. McGregor has had short fiction published by several magazines, including Granta magazine. His first collection of short stories is entitled This Isn't the Sort of Thing That Happens to Someone Like You (2012).

In 2010, McGregor received an honorary doctorate from the University of Nottingham, and was made an honorary lecturer in their School of English Studies. He is currently a writer-in-residence for the charity First Story. On 13 June 2012, McGregor was awarded the International Dublin Literary Award for his third novel Even the Dogs, with Lord Mayor Andrew Montague announcing the winner at the Mansion House. The book was nominated for the award by Rudomino State Library for Foreign Literature in Moscow.[1][4]

The International Dublin Literary Award was a competition among 147 writers nominated by international public libraries, including Pulitzer Prize winner Jennifer Egan. McGregor received a prize of €100,000. The prize's judging panel, which included the British novelist Tim Parks and the Trinidadian writer Elizabeth Nunez, described Even the Dogs, a novel detailing the highs and lows of drug addiction, as a "fearless experiment".[4][5] McGregor described it as "a real honour to have been selected from such a huge list of fantastic works from around the world."[6] He was the first British writer to win the award since Nicola Barker in 2000.[1]

List of works

Awards and honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "McGregor wins 2012 Impac prize". The Irish Times. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  2. ↑ Stuart, Jan (20 April 2012). "New Books by Jon McGregor and Others". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  3. ↑ "Jon McGregor". British Council.
  4. 1 2 3 Flood, Alison (13 June 2012). "Jon McGregor wins International Impac Dublin Literary Award". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "British author McGregor wins IMPAC award". RTÉ Ten. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "British writer Jon McGregor wins $131K Impac Dublin Award". CBC News. 13 June 2012. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

Further reading

External links

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