Kit Wright
Encyclopedia
Kit Wright is the author of more than twenty-five books, for both adults and children, and the winner of awards including an Arts Council Writers' Award, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, the Hawthornden Prize, the Alice Hunt Bartlett Award and (jointly) the Heinemann Award. After a scholarship to Oxford, he worked as a lecturer in Canada, then returned to England and a position in the Poetry Society. He is currently a full-time writer.
, Wright moved to Canada
to work as a lecturer. In 1970 he returned to London
to work as an Education Officer for the Poetry Society until 1975. From 1977 to 1979 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Art at Cambridge University
. He subsequently returned to London and works full-time as a writer. He currently contributes monthly to The Oldie
Magazine.
Early life
Educated at Oxford UniversityUniversity of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
, Wright moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to work as a lecturer. In 1970 he returned to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to work as an Education Officer for the Poetry Society until 1975. From 1977 to 1979 he was Fellow Commoner in Creative Art at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. He subsequently returned to London and works full-time as a writer. He currently contributes monthly to The Oldie
The Oldie
The Oldie is a monthly magazine launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who for 23 years was the editor of Private Eye. It carries general interest articles, humour and cartoons, and has an eclectic list of contributors, including James Le Fanu, John Sweeney, Thomas Stuttaford, Virginia Ironside,...
Magazine.
Awards
- 1977: Alice Hunt Bartlett Award (Awarded for The Bear Looked Over the Mountain)
- 1978: Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (Awarded for The Bear Looked Over the Mountain)
- 1985: Arts CouncilArts councilAn arts council is a government or private, non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing events at home and abroad...
Writers' Award - 1990 Heinemann Award (Awarded for Short Afternoons)
- 1991 Hawthornden PrizeHawthornden PrizeThe 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...
(Awarded for Short Afternoons) - 1995 Cholmondeley AwardCholmondeley AwardThe Cholmondeley Award is an annual award for poetry given by the Society of Authors in the United Kingdom. Awards honour distinguished poets, from a fund endowed by the late Dowager Marchioness of Cholmondeley in 1966...
- 1999 King's Lynn Award for Merit in Poetry
- 2009 Honorary Fellowship at the English AssociationEnglish AssociationThe English Association is a British association dedicated to furthering the study of English language and literature in schools, higher education institutes and amongst the public in general....