Alexander Masters
Encyclopedia
Alexander Masters is an author, screenwriter, and worker with the homeless. He lives in Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Masters is the son of authors Dexter Masters
and Joan Brady
. He was educated at Bedales School
, and took a first in physics from King's College London
. He then went St Edmund's College, Cambridge
for a further degree in maths, and then the beginnings of a PhD in the philosophy of quantum mechanics. He was studying for an MSc degree in mathematics with the Open University
, and working as an assistant at a hostel for the homeless in Cambridge, when he wrote his first book.
He is the writer and illustrator of Stuart: A Life Backwards
(ISBN 0-00-720037-4), the biography of Stuart Shorter. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of Cambridge. As the title suggests, the book starts from Shorter's adult life, tracing it back in time through his troubled childhood, examining the effects his family, schooling and disability had on his eventual state. Masters wrote wrote the book with Shorter's active and enthusiastic help.
Alexander Masters won an Arts Council Writers' Award for Stuart and went on to win the Guardian First Book Award
and the Hawthornden Prize
. The book was also shortlisted (in the biography category) for the Whitbread Book-of-the-Year Award, the Samuel Johnson Prize
, and the National Book Critics Circle Award
in the United States. He also wrote a screenplay adaptation, filmed in 2006 for the BBC
and HBO, and broadcast in September 2007. It won the Royal Television Society
Award in the Single Drama category and the Reims International Television award for the Best TV Screenplay.
In 2007, he collaborated with photographer Adrian Clarke
on the book Gary's Friends, chronicling the lives of drug and alcohol abusers in North East England
.
Masters is also the author of The Genius In My Basement (ISBN 9780007243389), a biography of mathematician Simon P. Norton
.
Masters is the son of authors Dexter Masters
Dexter Masters
Dexter Wright Masters , was an American editor and novelist who wrote extensively about the dangers of the atomic bomb.-Early life:...
and Joan Brady
Joan Brady
Joan Brady is a writer. She is the first woman, and so far the only American, to win the prestigious Whitbread Book of the Year Award. Other winners include Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes.-Personal life:...
. He was educated at Bedales School
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
, and took a first in physics from King's College London
King's College London
King's College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. King's has a claim to being the third oldest university in England, having been founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829, and...
. He then went St Edmund's College, Cambridge
St Edmund's College, Cambridge
Saint Edmund's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the second oldest of the four Cambridge colleges oriented to mature students, which only accept students reading for either Masters or Doctorate degrees, or undergraduate degrees if they are aged 21 or older, the...
for a further degree in maths, and then the beginnings of a PhD in the philosophy of quantum mechanics. He was studying for an MSc degree in mathematics with the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
, and working as an assistant at a hostel for the homeless in Cambridge, when he wrote his first book.
He is the writer and illustrator of Stuart: A Life Backwards
Stuart: A Life Backwards
Stuart: A Life Backwards is a book by Alexander Masters, the biography of Stuart Shorter. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of Cambridge...
(ISBN 0-00-720037-4), the biography of Stuart Shorter. It explores how a young boy, somewhat disabled from birth, became mentally unstable, criminal and violent, living homeless on the streets of Cambridge. As the title suggests, the book starts from Shorter's adult life, tracing it back in time through his troubled childhood, examining the effects his family, schooling and disability had on his eventual state. Masters wrote wrote the book with Shorter's active and enthusiastic help.
Alexander Masters won an Arts Council Writers' Award for Stuart and went on to win the Guardian First Book Award
Guardian First Book Award
Guardian First Book Award, issued before 1999 as Guardian Fiction Prize or Guardian Fiction Award, is awarded to new writing in fiction and non-fiction.-History:...
and the Hawthornden Prize
Hawthornden Prize
The Hawthornden Prize is a British literary award that was established in 1919 by Alice Warrender. Authors are awarded on the quality of their "imaginative literature" which can be written in either poetry or prose...
. The book was also shortlisted (in the biography category) for the Whitbread Book-of-the-Year Award, the Samuel Johnson Prize
Samuel Johnson Prize
The Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction is one of the most prestigious prizes for non-fiction writing. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award and based on an anonymous donation. The prize is named after Samuel Johnson...
, and the National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
in the United States. He also wrote a screenplay adaptation, filmed in 2006 for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and HBO, and broadcast in September 2007. It won the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
Award in the Single Drama category and the Reims International Television award for the Best TV Screenplay.
In 2007, he collaborated with photographer Adrian Clarke
Adrian Clarke (photographer)
Adrian Clarke is an English photographer. Originally trained and practising as a civil liberties lawyer, Clarke made the switch to photography in 2003....
on the book Gary's Friends, chronicling the lives of drug and alcohol abusers in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
.
Masters is also the author of The Genius In My Basement (ISBN 9780007243389), a biography of mathematician Simon P. Norton
Simon P. Norton
Simon Phillips Norton is a mathematician in Cambridge, England, who works on finite simple groups. He constructed the Harada–Norton group, and in 1979 together with John Conway proved there is a connection between the Monster group and the j-function in number theory. They dubbed this monstrous...
.
External links
- Masters' own web site
- Alexander Masters' staff CV, Kingston UniversityKingston UniversityKingston University is a public research university located in Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, United Kingdom. It was originally founded in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, a polytechnic, and became a university in 1992....
department of humanities website - "'Knife Man Dan' lives on in print", Peter Taylor-Whiffen, review of Stuart: A Life Backwards in The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 7 June 2005