Marina Lewycka
Encyclopedia
Marina Lewycka is a British
novelist of Ukrainian
origin, currently living in Sheffield
, England
.
, Germany
after World War II
. Her family subsequently moved to England where she now lives. She graduated from Keele University
in 1968 with BA in English and Philosophy and from the University of York
with a BPhil in English Literature in 1969. She began, but did not complete, a PhD at King's College London
.
She currently works as a lecturer in media studies
at Sheffield Hallam University
.
won the 2005 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
for comic writing at the Hay literary festival
, the 2005/6 Waverton Good Read Award
, the 2005 Saga Award for Wit; it was long-listed for the 2005 Man Booker Prize
and short-listed for the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction
. The novel has been translated into over twenty-nine languages, including Romanian, Bulgarian, Dutch, Russian, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Finnish, Portuguese, and Catalan.
Lewycka said in a 2008 interview that she would have been happy to write a sequel to A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian after the initial book's success but was advised against doing so. Instead she wrote her second novel Two Caravans
, which was published in hardback in March 2007 by Fig Tree (Penguin Books
) for the United Kingdom
market, and was shortlisted for the 2008 Orwell Prize
for political writing. In the United States
and Canada
it is published under the title Strawberry Fields
.
Lewycka's third novel We Are All Made of Glue was released in July 2009.
In 2009, she donated the short story "The Importance of Having Warm Feet" to Oxfam's Ox-Tales
project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Lewycka's story was published in the 'Earth' collection.
Later the same year, she donated a second short story, "Business Philosophy", to the Amnesty International
anthology Freedom: Short Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In addition to her fiction, Lewycka has written a number of books giving practical advice for carers of elderly people, published by the charity Age Concern
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
novelist of Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
origin, currently living in Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Biography
Marina Lewycka was born in a refugee camp in KielKiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Her family subsequently moved to England where she now lives. She graduated from Keele University
Keele University
Keele University is a campus university near Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as an experimental college dedicated to a broad curriculum and interdisciplinary study, Keele is most notable for pioneering the dual honours degree in Britain...
in 1968 with BA in English and Philosophy and from the University of York
University of York
The University of York , is an academic institution located in the city of York, England. Established in 1963, the campus university has expanded to more than thirty departments and centres, covering a wide range of subjects...
with a BPhil in English Literature in 1969. She began, but did not complete, a PhD at 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...
.
She currently works as a lecturer in media studies
Media studies
Media studies is an academic discipline and field of study that deals with the content, history and effects of various media; in particular, the 'mass media'. Media studies may draw on traditions from both the social sciences and the humanities, but mostly from its core disciplines of mass...
at Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
.
Works
Lewycka's debut novel A Short History of Tractors in UkrainianA Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is a novel by Marina Lewycka, first published in 2005 by Viking .The novel won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize at the Hay literary festival, the Waverton Good Read Award 2005/6, and was short-listed for the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction, losing to...
won the 2005 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the UK's only literary award for comic literature. Established in 2000 and named in honour of P G Wodehouse, past winners include Paul Torday in 2007 with Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Marina Lewycka with A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian 2005 and...
for comic writing at the Hay literary festival
Hay Festival
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales for ten days from May to June. Devised by Norman and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind"...
, the 2005/6 Waverton Good Read Award
Waverton Good Read Award
The Waverton Good Read Award was founded in 2003 by villagers in Waverton, Cheshire, England, and is based on Le Prix de la Cadière d'Azur, a literary prize awarded by a Provençal village. Adult debut novels written by UK residents and published in the previous twelve months are eligible for...
, the 2005 Saga Award for Wit; it was long-listed for the 2005 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...
and short-listed for the 2005 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...
. The novel has been translated into over twenty-nine languages, including Romanian, Bulgarian, Dutch, Russian, Norwegian, Italian, Spanish, German, Swedish, Finnish, Portuguese, and Catalan.
Lewycka said in a 2008 interview that she would have been happy to write a sequel to A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian after the initial book's success but was advised against doing so. Instead she wrote her second novel Two Caravans
Two Caravans
Two Caravans is a novel by Marina Lewycka. It was published by Penguin Books on 29 March 2007 for the United Kingdom market. In the United States and Canada it is published under the title Strawberry Fields...
, which was published in hardback in March 2007 by Fig Tree (Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
) for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
market, and was shortlisted for the 2008 Orwell Prize
Orwell Prize
The Orwell Prize used to be regarded as the pre-eminent British prize for political writing.Three prizes are awarded each year: one for a book, one for journalism and another for blogging...
for political writing. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and 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...
it is published under the title Strawberry Fields
Two Caravans
Two Caravans is a novel by Marina Lewycka. It was published by Penguin Books on 29 March 2007 for the United Kingdom market. In the United States and Canada it is published under the title Strawberry Fields...
.
Lewycka's third novel We Are All Made of Glue was released in July 2009.
In 2009, she donated the short story "The Importance of Having Warm Feet" to Oxfam's Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best known authors. All the authors donated their stories to Oxfam...
project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Lewycka's story was published in the 'Earth' collection.
Later the same year, she donated a second short story, "Business Philosophy", to the Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
anthology Freedom: Short Stories Celebrating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In addition to her fiction, Lewycka has written a number of books giving practical advice for carers of elderly people, published by the charity Age Concern
Age Concern
Age Concern was the banner title used by a number of charitable organisations specifically concerned with the needs and interests of all older people based chiefly in the four countries of the United Kingdom....
.
External links
- Fans of Marina Lewycka Facebook Group
- Complete bibliography, list of awards and critical perspective at Contemporary Writers website
- In depth biographical article at Derbyshire Life magazine website
- "Better Late Than Never", Interview by Stephen Moss, The Guardian, 31 May 2007. Retrieved on 31 May 2007
- Three Monkeys Interview
- Debut Novelist Takes Comic Prize about her winning the Bollinger for A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
- Review of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Guardian, 19 March 2005
- Review of Two Caravans, TimesOnLine, 25 March 2007
- Interview in the Guardian, 15 July 2008
- Marina Lewycka talks about We are all Made of Glue on The Interview Online