Peter May (writer)

Peter May

Peter May
Born (1951-12-20) 20 December 1951
Glasgow, Scotland
Occupation Crime writer, screenwriter, novelist
Nationality Scottish, French (April 2016)
Period 1971 – present
Genre Television drama, Thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction
Subject China, France
Notable works The Lewis Trilogy, The China Thrillers, The Enzo Files
Notable awards

Fraser Award
1973 Scottish Young Journalist of the Year
Prix Intramuros
2007 Snakehead

Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE
2011 The Blackhouse
Spouse Janice Hally
Website
petermay.co.uk

Peter May (born 20 December 1951) is a Scottish television screenwriter, novelist, and crime writer.[1] He is the recipient of writing awards in Europe and America. The Blackhouse won the U.S. Barry Award for Crime Novel of the Year and the national literature award in France, the CEZAM Prix Litteraire. The Lewis Man won the French daily newspaper Le Télégramme's 10,000-euro Grand Prix des Lecteurs.[2] In 2014, Entry Island won both the Deanston’s Scottish Crime Novel of the Year[3] and the UK’s ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year Award.[4] May’s books have sold more than two million copies in the UK and several million internationally.[5]

Early life

Peter May was born in Glasgow. From an early age he was intent on becoming a novelist, but took up a career as a journalist as a way to start earning a living by writing. He made his first serious attempt at writing a novel at the age of 19, which he sent to Collins where it was read by Philip Ziegler, who wrote him a very encouraging rejection letter.[6] At the age of 21, he won the Fraser Award and was named Scotland's Young Journalist of the Year. He went on to write for The Scotsman and the Glasgow Evening Times.[7] At the age of 26, May's first novel, The Reporter, was published. May was asked to adapt the book as a television series for the British television network the BBC, and left journalism in 1978 to begin to write full-time for television.[7]

Television career

May's novel The Reporter became the prime-time 13-part television series entitled The Standard in 1978. May went on to create another major TV series for the BBC, Squadron, a drama involving an RAF rapid deployment squadron.[8] In the following fifteen years, May earned more than 1,000 TV credits. He created and wrote major drama serials for both BBC and the Independent Television Network in the UK[9] including Machair[10] which he co-created with Janice Hally for Scottish Television. The long-running serial was the first major television drama to be made in the Gaelic language and was shot entirely on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides.[10] The show, which May also produced, achieved a 33% audience share and regularly appeared in the top ten in the ratings in Scotland, in spite of the fact that it was broadcast with English subtitles because only 2% of the population of Scotland are Gaelic speakers.[9] During his time working in television, May wrote the novels Hidden Faces (1981) and The Noble Path (1992),[8] and in 1996 May quit television to write novels.[9]

Chinese connections

After quitting television May wrote a series of six novels known as the "China Thrillers". To research the series, May made annual trips to China and built up a network of contacts including forensic pathologists and homicide detectives. He gained access to the homicide and forensic science sections of Beijing and Shanghai police forces and has made a study of the methodology of Chinese police and forensic pathology systems.[9]

As a mark of their respect for his work, the Chinese Crime Writers' Association made him an honorary member of their Beijing Chapter. He is the only Westerner to receive this honour.[7] He has also contributed a monthly column to the Chinese Police Magazine Contemporary World Police.[7]

The books were first published in the UK between 1999 and 2004 and subsequently published worldwide in translation. New editions were published for the USA and UK in 2016/17 with an introduction by May explaining the historical setting of the books.[11]

French connections

Peter May lives in France and his China Thrillers have received several nominations for awards in that country. In 2007 he won the Prix Intramuros.[12] This prize is unique in France as it is awarded by juries of readers made up of prisoners in French penitentiaries. The books under consideration are reduced to a shortlist of 6 finalists and the authors of the shortlisted books then have to travel to various French prisons to be interviewed by panels of detainees.[12] In 2007, May was the only non-French author in the shortlist. He received the prize at the annual Polar&Co literary festival in Cognac.[13]

"The Enzo Files", is set in France and is centred on the work of half-Italian, half-Scottish Enzo Macleod. This former forensic scientist, now working as a biology professor at a French university becomes involved in applying the latest scientific methods to solve cold cases.[14]

May continues to ensure authenticity in the details of his books by researching in France just as he did in China. When writing "The Critic" – which involves the wine industry and is set in Gaillac, France – May took a course in wine-tasting, picked grapes by hand, and was invited by the winemakers of the region to be inducted as a Chevalier de la Dive Bouteille de Gaillac in December 2007.[15][16]

In April 2016, after 15 years of living full-time in France and a connection with the department of the Lot that goes back more than 40 years, May was welcomed as a French citizen at a ceremony of naturalization by Catherine Ferrier, the Préfète of the Lot.[17]

Second Life

While working on his standalone thriller 'Virtually Dead', May researched the book by creating an avatar in the online world of Second Life and opening the Flick Faulds private detective agency.[18] He spent a year in Second Life, working as a private detective, and was hired by clients for cases ranging from protection from harassment by stalkers to surveillance and infidelity investigations. He claims to have had a 100% success rate.[19]

The Lewis Trilogy

After being turned down by all the major British publishers, The Blackhouse – the first book in 'The Lewis Trilogy' – was published first in May's adopted home of France in French translation at the end of 2009. The book was hailed as "a masterpiece" by the French daily newspaper L'Humanité[20][21] and was immediately nominated for several literary awards in France. It won the Prix des Lecteurs at Le Havre's Ancres Noires Festival in 2010[22] and won the French national literature award, the Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE[23] at an award ceremony in Strasbourg in October 2011.[24] The Blackhouse went on to be published all over Europe and was bought by British publishers Quercus who brought it out in February 2011. It is the first of three books to be set in the Outer Hebrides, an archipelago off the North West coast of Scotland.[25]

'The Blackhouse' was chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club autumn 2011 list.[26]

The second book in the trilogy, 'The Lewis Man' was published in January 2012, and spent 18 weeks in the UK hardbacks best sellers' list. It has won two French literature awards, the Prix des Lecteurs at Le Havre's Ancres Noires Festival, 2012 and the Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme, readers prize of France's Le Télégramme newspaper – the 10,000 euro award was presented to May at a ceremony in Brest in May 2012.[27]

'The Lewis Man' won the 2012 Prix International at the Cognac Festival.[28]

The third book in the trilogy, 'The Chessmen' was published in January 2013. It was shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Book of the Year 2014.[29] The Lewis Trilogy has sold more than a million copies in the UK alone.[30]

Entry Island

Entry Island, Peter May's first book after the Lewis Trilogy, won the Deanstons Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2014,[31] the UK national prize, the Specsavers ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year 2014[32] and the French Trophée 813 for the Best Foreign Crime Novel of the year 2015.[33]

The book is partly set on a remote island in modern-day Canada and partly set on the Isle of Lewis 150 years earlier during the Highland Clearances.

Runaway

Runaway is a crime novel based on Peter May's real experiences of running away from home in Glasgow seeking fame and fortune in London with members of a musical group that he was part of in the 1960s. The story is told through two storylines, one in 1965 in which five teenagers embark on a trip that ends with tragic consequences, and the other in 2015, where three of the men retrace their steps from Scotland to London fifty years later in order to solve a murder.[34]

Coffin Road

Published in the UK in 2016, Coffin Road is a standalone thriller set on the Isle of Harris. The story has an ecological theme involving links between big pharmaceutical companies and colony collapse disorder in bees. Although it is not a follow-up to May's Lewis Trilogy, the character of George Gunn, a policeman in the Lewis Trilogy features as a policeman in Coffin Road.[35]

Books, television and film writing credits

The Lewis Trilogy

The Enzo Files

The China Thrillers

Standalone novels

Photo books

Television drama

Film

Awards

Author Peter May with the 2013 Barry Award for Best Novel, for his book, "The Blackhouse".

References

  1. ↑ "Scotland Now feature on Scottish Crime Writers". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  2. ↑ "Le Telegramme newspaper feature about Peter May winning Grand Prix". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  3. ↑ "May Wins Scottish Crime Book of the Year". The Bookseller. Bookseller Magazine. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "ITV Press Release Crime Thriller Awards". ITV.com. ITV. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Scotsman newspaper feature and book excerpt". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  6. ↑ May, Peter (5 November 2013). "A Man of Letters Amongst His Books". polaroidblipfoto.com.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Shots Magazine Interview with Peter May". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Biographical details from official Peter May website". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Crime Time profile of author Peter May". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  10. 1 2 "Gaelic drama serial "Machair"". Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  11. ↑ May, Peter. "China Thrillers New Editions". Peter May Author. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  12. 1 2 3 "Official Press Release about Prix Intramuros". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  13. ↑ http://www.ville-cognac.fr/spip.php?article13
  14. ↑ "San Diego Reader Feature about Peter May's Extraordinary People". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  15. ↑ "San Diego reader Article about Peter May's 'The Critic'". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  16. ↑ "Peter May describes becoming a Chevalier de la Dive Bouteille de Gaillac". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  17. ↑ "Peter May Naturalisation". La Depeche. 20 April 2016. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  18. ↑ http://www.flickfaulds.com
  19. ↑ "International Thriller Writers Magazine article about Peter May's 'Virtually Dead'". Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  20. ↑ May, Peter. "Translation of review of The Blackhouse in l'humanite". Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  21. ↑ L'Humanite. "French Daily Newspaper l'Humanite review of The Blackhouse". Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  22. ↑ "French Literary Prizes – Prix Ancres Noires des Lecteurs". Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  23. 1 2 CEZAM. "CEZAM Prix Litteraire". Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  24. 1 2 "Scottish author Peter May Wins French Literary Award". Retrieved 16 October 2011.
  25. ↑ "The Lewis Trilogy". Official author website. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
  26. ↑ "Richard and Judy Book Club official site".
  27. ↑ "Peter May official site". ur-web.net.
  28. 1 2 "Cognac Karine Giebel consacrée par le Festival du Polar". charentlibre.fr.
  29. 1 2 "Theakston's Shortlist Crime Novel of the Year". Theakstons. Theakstons Old Peculiar. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  30. ↑ "Scottish Television Article about Peter May". STV. Retrieved 14 January 2014.
  31. 1 2 "May Wins Scottish Crime Book of the Year". The Bookseller. Bookseller Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
  32. 1 2 "ITV Press Release Crime Thriller Awards". ITV.com. ITV. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  33. 1 2 "2015 Trophee 813 Winner". K-Libre. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  34. ↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (26 January 2015). "Peter May: returning to a runaway youth". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  35. ↑ Robinson, David (9 January 2016). "Peter May returns to old haunts in new novel". Scotsman. The Scotsman. Retrieved 21 April 2016.
  36. ↑ "Article in Screen Daily". Retrieved 21 May 2012.
  37. ↑ "French Literary Prizes – Prix Intramuros". Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  38. ↑ "French Literary Prizes – Prix Ancres Noires des Lecteurs". Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  39. ↑ "French Literary Prizes – Prix Ancres Noires des Lecteurs". Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  40. ↑ "French Literary Prizes – Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme". Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  41. ↑ "Peter May Website news of Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme". Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  42. ↑ "Macavity Award". Mystery Readers Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  43. ↑ "Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year". Theakstons. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  44. ↑ "Barry Award". Deadly Pleasures Magazine. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  45. ↑ "2013 Barry Award Winners". Crimespree Magazine. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  46. ↑ "Dagger in the Library". Dead Good Books. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  47. ↑ "2015 Theakston Award Winners". Theakstons. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
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