Kate Atkinson

For the Australian actress, see Kate Atkinson (actress).
Kate Atkinson

Atkinson signing books at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (August 2007)
Born 1951 (age 63–64)
York, England, United Kingdom
Occupation Writer
Language English
Alma mater University of Dundee
Genre Crime fiction
Children Eve Worden
Website
www.kateatkinson.co.uk

Kate Atkinson, MBE (born 1951) is an English writer.

Life

Atkinson was born in York, the daughter of a shopkeeper.[1] She studied English literature at the University of Dundee, gaining her master's degree in 1974. Atkinson subsequently studied for a doctorate in American literature, entitled "The post-modern American short story in its historical context".[1] She has often spoken publicly that she failed at the viva (oral examination) stage. After leaving university, she took on a variety of jobs from home help to legal secretary and teacher.

Atkinson has been married twice, whilst a student to the father of her first daughter Eve, and subsequently to the father of her second daughter Helen.[1]

Writing career

Her first novel, Behind the Scenes at the Museum, won the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year ahead of Salman Rushdie's The Moor's Last Sigh and Roy Jenkins's biography of William Ewart Gladstone. It went on to be a Sunday Times bestseller. Since then, she has published another five novels, one play, and one collection of short stories.

Her work is often celebrated for its wit, wisdom and subtle characterisation, and the surprising twists and plot turns . Some of her work has featured the former detective Jackson Brodie. She has frequently criticised the media's coverage of her work – when she won the Whitbread award, for example, it was the fact that she was a "single mother" who lived outside London that received the most attention.

In 2009, she donated the short story "Lucky We Live Now" to Oxfam's Ox-Tales project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Atkinson's story was published in the Earth collection.[2]

In March 2010, Atkinson appeared at the York Literature Festival, giving a world-premier reading from an early chapter from her novel Started Early, Took My Dog (2010), which is set mainly in the English city of Leeds.

Atkinson was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to literature.[3]

Published works

Novels

Novels featuring Jackson Brodie (former police inspector, now private investigator): [4]

Plays

Story collections

Television adaptations

The four Jackson Brodie novels have been adapted by other writers for the BBC under the series titled Case Histories, featuring Jason Isaacs as Brodie.

In 2015 in the United States, Shonda Rhimes was in the process of developing a pilot called The Catch, based on the novel, and starring Mireille Enos.[5]

Awards and honours

Personal life

Atkinson lived in Whitby, North Yorkshire, for a time, but now lives in Edinburgh near the authors JK Rowling, Ian Rankin and Alexander McCall Smith.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Brown, Helen (29 August 2004). "A writer's life: Kate Atkinson". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  2. ↑ "Ox-Tales". Oxfam. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59808. p. 13. 11 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Kate Atkinson". Fantasticfiction.co.uk. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
  5. ↑ Elavsky, Cindy (March 12, 2015). "Celebrity Extra". King Features. Retrieved March 18, 2015.
  6. ↑ Allen, Kate (7 September 2009). "Coben, Cole, Atkinson vie for crime awards". The Bookseller. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  7. ↑ "Former winners recapture Costa prize". BBC News. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  8. ↑ "Walter Scott Prize Shortlist 2014". Walter Scott Prize. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "South Bank Sky Arts Awards – Winners 2014". West End Theatre. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  10. ↑ Ian Rankin No. 1 Magazine, Retrieved 24 February 2014

External links