Lucy Mangan
British columnist (born 1974)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic for The Guardian and an opinion writer for The i Paper.
- Writer
- television critic
Lucy Mangan | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1974 (age 51–52) |
| Education | Trinity Hall, Cambridge |
| Occupations |
|
| Employer | The Guardian |
| Children | 1 |
| Website | theguardian.com |
Early life and education
Mangan was born in 1974[1] and grew up in Catford, southeast London, to parents originally from Lancashire.[2] Her father worked in theatre, and her mother was a doctor.[3]
She read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, qualified as a solicitor, but worked in a bookshop until she found a work experience placement at The Guardian in 2003.[2][4]
Career
Journalism
Mangan writes a regular column, TV reviews, and occasional features at The Guardian,[5][6] and is an opinion writer for The i Paper.[7] A major part of her writing is related to feminism.[8][9]
As of November 2025[update] The Guardian has given only 15 zero-star reviews, two of them by Mangan. In 2021 Mangan gave a zero-star review to the film Sex, Unzipped, remarking that the film "is a TV disgrace".[10] In 2025 Mangan gave a zero-star review to television series All's Fair, describing the show as "Fascinatingly, incomprehensibly, existentially terrible".[11]
Books
Mangan's book My Family and other Disasters (2009) is a collection of her newspaper columns. She has also written books about her childhood and her wedding.[2][4]
Her debut novel, Are We Having Fun Yet?, was published in 2021. The Scotsman's Kirsty McLuckie gave the novel a glowing review, describing the book as "a work of genius".[13]
Other activities
Recognition and awards
Mangan won the columnist of the year award at the Professional Publishers Association Awards in 2013,[15] and was shortlisted for the critic of the year award at The British Press Awards in 2019.[16]
Personal life
Works
- My Family and other Disasters, Hachette (2010) ISBN 0852653689
- The Reluctant Bride: One Woman's Journey (Kicking and Screaming) Down the Aisle, Guardian Books (2012) ISBN 184854359X
- Hopscotch & Handbags: The Truth about Being a Girl, Headline (2013) ISBN 9780755316489
- Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory, Puffin UK/US (2014) ISBN 9780147513489
- Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading, Square Peg (2018) ISBN 9781784709228
- Are We Having Fun Yet?, Souvenir, (2021)
- Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives, Vintage Publishing (2025) ISBN 979-8897100446
