A. L. Kennedy
Scottish writer and comedian (born 1965)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 October 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction, and is known for her dark tone and her blending of realism and fantasy. She contributes columns and reviews to European newspapers.[1]
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22 October 1965
A. L. Kennedy | |
|---|---|
A.L. Kennedy in 2012 | |
| Born | Alison Louise Kennedy 22 October 1965 Dundee, Scotland |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Education | University of Warwick |
| Occupations | Writer, academic, comedian |
| Website | www |
Biography
Kennedy was born in Dundee to Edwardene Mildred, a teacher, and Robert Alan Kennedy, a psychology lecturer. Her parents divorced when she was 13. She attended the fee-paying High School of Dundee and went on to study for a BA Hons in Theatre Studies and Dramatic Arts at the University of Warwick.[2][3][4]
From 1987 to 1989,[citation needed] Kennedy was a community arts worker for Clydebank District Council. She then went on to a role as writer-in-residence for Hamilton and East Kilbride Social Work Department from 1989 to 1991. Her work there won a special Social Work Today Award in 1990. From 1989 to 1995 she worked on Project Ability, a Glasgow-based visual arts organisation. In 1995 she was a part-time lecturer at the University of Copenhagen.[4][5]
In 2009, she donated the short story Vanish to Oxfam's Ox-Tales project, four collections of stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the "Air" collection.[6] In 2016, her novel Serious Sweet was long-listed for the Booker Prize.[7]
In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, she signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."[8][9]
In 2020 she began contributing a column on her views of Brexit to the German daily paper Süddeutsche Zeitung.[10][11][12][13]
Kennedy currently lives in the Scottish Highlands, having moved from Wivenhoe[14] and has been an associate professor in creative writing at the University of Warwick[15] since 2007, having previously taught creative writing at the University of St Andrews from 2003 to 2007.[16][17]
By 2006, she had been doing stand up comedy performances in clubs in Scotland.[18][19] She has performed as a stand-up comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe and literary festivals. Her main comedy club has been The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh.[20]
Her 2023 novel Als lebten wir in einem barmherzigen Land was first published in German rather than in the original English.[21]
Awards and honours
- Scottish Arts Council Book Award four times[5]
- 1993, 2003 Granta Best Young British Novelist[5][22]
- 1991 Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year, Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains[23]
- 1993 Edinburgh Fringe First, The Audition[23][24]
- 1994 Somerset Maugham Award, Looking for the Possible Dance[5][23]
- 1996 Encore Award winner, So I Am Glad[25]
- 1999 Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature[26]
- 2007 Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year, Day[5][27]
- 2007 Lannan Literary Award for Fiction[5]
- 2007 Austrian State Prize for European Literature winner[28]
- 2007 Costa Book Awards Book of the Year, winner for Day[29]
- 2008 Internationale Eifel-Literatur-Preis[5][30]
- 2014 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award shortlist All the Rage[31]
- 2016 Heinrich Heine Prize[32]
- 2016 Ehrenpreis des Österreichischen Buchhandels für Toleranz in Denken und Handeln[33]
Works
Novels
- Looking for the Possible Dance (1993) ISBN 978-0-7493-9758-6
- So I Am Glad (1995) ISBN 978-0-09-945721-3
- Everything You Need (1999) ISBN 978-0-09-973061-3
- Paradise (2004) ISBN 978-0-09-943349-1
- Day (2007) ISBN 978-0-09-949405-8
- The Blue Book (2011) ISBN 978-0-224-09140-4
- Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse (2015) ISBN 978-0-553-41944-3
- Serious Sweet (2016) ISBN 978-0-224-09844-1
- The Little Snake (2018) ISBN 978-1786893864
- Alive in the Merciful Country (2024) ISBN 978-1916812284
- German: Als lebten wir in einem barmherzigen Land (2023) ISBN 978-3-446-27624-6
Short story collections
- Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains (1990) ISBN 978-0-09-945006-1
- Now That You're Back (1994) ISBN 978-0-09-945711-4
- Tea and Biscuits (1996) ISBN 978-1-85799-757-6
- Original Bliss (1997) ISBN 978-0-09-973071-2
- Indelible Acts (2002) ISBN 978-0-09-943348-4
- What Becomes (2009) ISBN 978-0-224-07787-3
- All the Rage (2014) ISBN 978-0544307049
- We Are Attempting to Survive Our Time (2020) ISBN 978-1787331822
Non-fiction
- Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (1997) ISBN 0-85170-568-5
- On Bullfighting (1999) ISBN 0-224-06099-6
- On Writing (2013) ISBN 978-0-224-09697-3
Film and TV
- "Stella Does Tricks" (1996) Channel 4 films
- "Dice" (2001), with John Burnside
Selected radio
- Confessions of a Medium (2010), broadcast as the Saturday Play on BBC Radio 4, 13 March 2010 and 1 March 2013[34]
- Happy Families (2011), broadcast on BBC Radio 3, 1 September 2011
- Love Love Love Like The Beatles (2012), broadcast as the Afternoon Drama on BBC Radio 4, 26 June 2012
- AA: America's Gift to the World (2014), broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 6 April 2015[35]
- Subterranean Homesick Blues (5 series beginning 2015), broadcast on BBC Radio 4 from 14 September 2015
- A Single Act (first broadcast on BBC Radio 4 25th Dec, 2023)
