Andrea Levy
Encyclopedia
Andrea Levy is a British author, born in London to Jamaica
n parents who sailed to England on the Empire Windrush in 1948.
paternal grandfather and a Scots
maternal great-grandfather.
In her mid-twenties she did work for a social institution that included dealing with racist attacks. She also worked part-time in the BBC costume department, while starting a graphic design company with her husband Bill Mayblin. During this time she experienced a form of awakening to her identity concerning both her gender and her race. She also became aware of the power of books and began to read “excessively”: it was easy enough to find literature by black writers from the United States, but she could find very little literature from black writers in the United Kingdom.
Levy began writing only in her mid-thirties, but she attracted attention immediately with her first novel, the semi-autobiographical Every Light in the House Burnin'. Her fourth novel, Small Island (2004), won three prestigious awards: Whitbread Book of the Year, the Orange Prize for Fiction
, and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
. It has since been made into a television drama, which was broadcast by the BBC in December 2009. Her fifth novel, The Long Song won the 2011 Walter Scott Prize
and was short-listed for the 2010 Man Booker Prize
.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n parents who sailed to England on the Empire Windrush in 1948.
Identity and writings
Levy is of primarily Afro-Jamaican descent. Levy has a JewishHistory of the Jews in Jamaica
-Modern times:By religious bloodlines and not practicing of the Jewish faith, it is estimated that nearly 424,000 Jamaicans have Sephardi Jewish ancestry, due to the Spanish Inquisition.-Notable people:*Monty Alexander - Jazz Pianist...
paternal grandfather and a Scots
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
maternal great-grandfather.
In her mid-twenties she did work for a social institution that included dealing with racist attacks. She also worked part-time in the BBC costume department, while starting a graphic design company with her husband Bill Mayblin. During this time she experienced a form of awakening to her identity concerning both her gender and her race. She also became aware of the power of books and began to read “excessively”: it was easy enough to find literature by black writers from the United States, but she could find very little literature from black writers in the United Kingdom.
Levy began writing only in her mid-thirties, but she attracted attention immediately with her first novel, the semi-autobiographical Every Light in the House Burnin'. Her fourth novel, Small Island (2004), won three prestigious awards: Whitbread Book of the Year, the Orange Prize for Fiction
Orange Prize for Fiction
The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
, and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers' Prize
Commonwealth Writers is an initiative by the Commonwealth Foundation to unearth, develop and promote the best new fiction from across the Commonwealth. It's flagship are two literary awards and a website...
. It has since been made into a television drama, which was broadcast by the BBC in December 2009. Her fifth novel, The Long Song won the 2011 Walter Scott Prize
Walter Scott Prize
The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010. At £25,000 it is one of the largest literary awards in the UK...
and was short-listed for the 2010 Man Booker Prize
Man Booker Prize
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
.
Awards
- 2004: Orange Prize for FictionOrange Prize for FictionThe Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
, winner, Small Island - 2004: Whitbread Book of the Year, winner, Small Island
- 2005: Commonwealth Writers Prize, winner, Small Island
- 2010: Man Booker PrizeMan Booker PrizeThe Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
, shortlist, The Long Song - 2011: Walter Scott PrizeWalter Scott PrizeThe Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010. At £25,000 it is one of the largest literary awards in the UK...
, winner, The Long Song
External links
- Andrea Levy, official website