Justin Cartwright is a British novelist.

He was born in South Africa, where his father was the editor of the Rand Daily Mail newspaper, and was educated there, in the United States and at Trinity College, Oxford

Trinity College, Oxford

The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...

. Cartwright has worked in advertising and has directed documentaries, films and television commercials. He managed election broadcasts, first for the Liberal Party

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

 and then the SDP-Liberal Alliance

SDP-Liberal Alliance

The SDP–Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...

 during the 1979, 1983 and 1987 British general elections. For his work on election broadcasts, Cartwright was appointed an MBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

.

Cartwright lives in London with his wife, Penny, and two sons.

Literary prizes

In Every Face I Meet was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Novel Award in 1995, and won a Commonwealth Writers Prize; Leading the Cheers won the Whitbread Novel Award in 1998; White Lightning was shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award in 2002.
Masai Dreaming won the South African M-Net Literary Awards

M-Net Literary Awards

The M-Net Literary Awards were established in 1991 by M-Net , a commercial television station based in South Africa. It is among South Africa's most prestigious literary honors...

.
The Promise of Happiness was chosen as one of Richard and Judy's

Richard & Judy

Richard & Judy was a British magazine/chat show which was presented by married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. It originally aired on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2008 but later moved to digital channel Watch in October 2008. It featured the world's most famous stars, along with their Book Club...

 Book Club's titles for 2005 and was the winner of the 2005 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...

 and the Sunday Times Fiction Prize

The Sunday Times Fiction Prize

The Sunday Times Fiction Prize has been awarded by the South African newspaper The Sunday Times since 2001 to accompany their Alan Paton Award for works of non-fiction...

 of South Africa.

Cartwright's films include Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse

Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse

Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse is a 1978 British comedy film directed by Justin Cartwright and starring Debbie Ash, Carolyne Argyle, Beryl Reid and John Le Mesurier. It was based on a novel by Christopher Wood. A new student nurse arrives at a hospital, attracting interest from the staff with comedic...

, made in 1978.

External links

• Justin Cartwright
• Audio slideshow interview with Justin Cartwright talking about To Heaven by Water on The Interview Online