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Updated: Dannie Abse
- Born
- Cardiff, Wales
- Genres
- Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Drama
- Publisher
- Hutchinson Books Ltd
Poet Dannie Abse was born on 22 September 1923 in Cardiff to Jewish parents. He studied Medicine in Wales and at King's College, London, qualifying as a doctor in 1950. His first collection of poetry, After Every Green…
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Chinua Achebe
- Born
- Nigeria
- Genres
- Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Children
- Publisher
- Penguin Group (UK)
Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the large village of Ogidi, one of the first centres of Anglican missionary work in Eastern Nigeria, and is a graduate of University College, Ibadan. His…
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Updated: Peter Ackroyd
- Born
- London
- Genres
- Short Stories, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Drama
- Publisher
- Chatto & Windus, Dorling Kindersley
Novelist, biographer and poet Peter Ackroyd was born in London on 5 October 1949. He graduated from Clare College, Cambridge, and studied at Yale University as a Mellon Fellow, where he completed Notes for a New…
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Fleur Adcock
- Born
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Genres
- Young Adult, Poetry, Non-Fiction
- Publisher
- Bloodaxe Books Ltd, Oxford University Press
Poet Fleur Adcock was born in Auckland, New Zealand, on 10 February 1934, but spent much of her childhood, including the war years, in England. She studied Classics at Victoria University in Wellington and taught at…
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Updated: Naomi Alderman
- Born
- London, England
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Fiction
- Publisher
- Penguin Group (UK)
Naomi Alderman was born in London in 1974 and grew up in an Orthodox Jewish community. Her father is Geoffrey Alderman, a well-known Jewish historian and journalist. After attaining a BA in Philosophy, Politics and…
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Updated: Brian Aldiss
- Born
- Norfolk, England
- Genres
- Short Stories, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Drama
- Publisher
- Little, Brown Book Group
Poet, playwright, critic, fiction and science-fiction writer Brian W(ilson) Aldiss was born on 18 August 1925 in Dereham, Norfolk, and is the author of more than 75 books. He was educated at Framlingham College,…
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Tariq Ali
- Born
- Lahore, India
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Fiction
- Publisher
- Verso Ltd
Writer, journalist and film-maker Tariq Ali was born in Lahore in 1943. He was educated at Oxford University, where he became involved in student politics, in particular with the movement against the war in Vietnam. On…
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Gillian Allnutt
- Born
- London, England
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Poetry
- Publisher
- Bloodaxe Books Ltd
Gillian Allnutt was born on 15 January 1949 in London, but spent much of her childhood in Newcastle upon Tyne. She was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge and the University of Sussex.Since 1973 she has taught…
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Updated: Martin Amis
- Born
- Oxford, England
- Genres
- Short Stories, Non-Fiction, Fiction
- Publisher
- Jonathan Cape Ltd
Martin Amis was born in Oxford in 1949, the son of the writer Kingsley Amis. He was educated in schools in Britain, Spain and the USA, and graduated from Exeter College, Oxford, with First Class Honours in English. He…
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Simon Armitage
- Born
- Huddersfield, England
- Genres
- Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Drama
- Publisher
- Faber and Faber Ltd, Viking
Poet and novelist Simon Armitage was born in 1963 in Huddersfield, England. After studying Geography at Portsmouth Polytechnic, he worked with young offenders before gaining a postgraduate qualification in social work…
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Ronda Armitage
- Born
- New Zealand
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Children
- Publisher
- Scholastic Ltd
Ronda Armitage was born in New Zealand. She is the author of many books for children, including the well-loved Lighthouse Keeper series of stories, which tell of the adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Grinling and their…
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Sherry Ashworth
- Born
- London
- Genres
- Fiction, Non-Fiction,
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins Publishers
Sherry Ashworth was born in 1953 and grew up in London, studying English Literature at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and Medieval Studies at the University of York. In 1977 she moved to Manchester, and taught English in…
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Updated: Margaret Atwood
- Born
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Genres
- Short Stories, Poetry, Non-Fiction, Fiction, Drama, Children
- Publisher
- Bloomsbury Publishing plc
Margaret Atwood was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1939. She is the daughter of a forest entomologist, and spent part of her early years in the bush of North Quebec. She moved, at the age of seven, to Toronto. She studied…
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Paul Bailey
- Born
- Unknown
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Fiction, Drama
- Publisher
- Hamish Hamilton Ltd, Fourth Estate
Writer and broadcaster Paul Bailey was born on 16 February 1937. He won a scholarship to the Central School of Speech and Drama in 1953 and worked as an actor between 1956 and 1964. He became a freelance writer in…
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Iain Bamforth
- Born
- Bishop's Stortford
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Poetry, Young Adult
- Publisher
- Carcanet Press Ltd
Iain Bamforth was born in 1959 into a Plymouth Brethren family and grew up in Glasgow, where he attended the university. A poet, doctor and scientific translator, he now lives and runs his own practice in…
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Updated: John Banville
- Born
- Wexford, Ireland
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Fiction
- Publisher
- Picador
Irish novelist John Banville was born in Wexford in Ireland in 1945. He was educated at a Christian Brothers' school and St Peter's College in Wexford. He worked for Aer Lingus in Dublin, an opportunity that enabled…
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Updated: Julian Barnes
- Born
- Leicester, England
- Genres
- Young Adult, Short Stories, Non-Fiction, Fiction
- Publisher
- Jonathan Cape Ltd
Novelist Julian Barnes was born in Leicester on 19 January 1946 and was educated at the City of London School and Magdalen College, Oxford. After working as a lexicographer on the Oxford English Dictionary, he began a…
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Desmond Barry
- Born
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Genres
- Fiction, Non-Fiction
- Publisher
- Jonathan Cape Ltd
Desmond Barry was born and brought up in Wales and studied History at University College, London, after which he taught English in Italy. In the mid-1980s he moved to the USA and lived there for 16 years. He has an…
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Susan Bassnett
- Born
- England
- Genres
- Young Adult, Poetry, Non-Fiction
- Publisher
- Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan
Susan Bassnett is Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Warwick and Professor in the Centre for Translation and Comparative Cultural Studies, which she founded in the 1980s. She was educated in several European…
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Jonathan Bate
- Born
- Sevenoaks, Kent
- Genres
- Non-Fiction, Fiction
- Publisher
- Picador
Jonathan Bate was born in 1958 and is a leading Shakespeare scholar. He studied at Cambridge University, where he was a Fellow of Trinity Hall. From 1991 to 2003 he was King Alfred Professor of English Literature at…
