Paul Pickering
Encyclopedia
Early Life
Pickering was born in RotherhamRotherham
Rotherham is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Don, at its confluence with the River Rother, between Sheffield and Doncaster. Rotherham, at from Sheffield City Centre, is surrounded by several smaller settlements, which together form the wider Metropolitan Borough of...
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, the son of Arthur Samuel Pickering and Lorna (née Grocock). He was educated at the Royal Masonic School for Boys
Royal Masonic School for Boys
The Royal Masonic School for Boys was an independent school for boys in England.From 1798 charities were set up for clothing and educating sons of needy Freemasons. They originally provided education by sending them to schools near to their homes...
in Bushey
Bushey
Bushey is a town in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire in the East of England. Bushey Heath is situated to the south east of Bushey on the boundary with the London Borough of Harrow.-History:...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
, and at the University of Leicester
University of Leicester
The University of Leicester is a research-led university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is a mile south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park and Wyggeston and Queen Elizabeth I College....
.
Career
Pickering started his career as a journalist but wrote his first novel, Wild About HarryWild About Harry (novel)
Wild About Harry is the first novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1985 and Collins in 1986. The book was published in America by Atheneum Books in 1985...
, after an assignment to Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
to find the war criminal Josef Mengele
Josef Mengele
Josef Rudolf Mengele , also known as the Angel of Death was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He earned doctorates in anthropology from Munich University and in medicine from Frankfurt University...
. The novel was both a critical and popular success and was long listed for the 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...
. His second novel, Perfect English
Perfect English
Perfect English is the second blackly comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It is based on his own experience as an "Internationalista" in the war in Nicaragua against the Contras...
, about a young "Internationalista" in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, was long listed for the 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 became another best seller. His next novel, The Blue Gate of Babylon
The Blue Gate of Babylon
The Blue Gate of Babylon is the third comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering, published by Chatto & Windus and Penguin Books in the United Kingdom and Random House in the United States, was long-listed for the Booker Prize, became a New York Times notable book of the year and saw Pickering...
, also long listed for the 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...
, was also a bestseller and was chosen by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as a notable book of the year and Pickering was chosen as one of WH Smith’s top ten young British novelists. Charlie Peace
Charlie Peace (novel)
Charlie Peace is the controversial comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published in the United States by Random House but not in the United Kingdom because of fears of Christian blasphemy prosecutions against the background of The Satanic Verses controversy- Plot Summary :Criminal...
, his next controversial novel about the second coming of Christ in modern times, drew the quote from J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
that Pickering was ‘a truly subversive author’ and called the decision not to publish the book in Britain ‘pure censorship’. The controversy led The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
to dub him ‘the de facto Norman Mailer of the British Literati’. After a near fatal stabbing in the Groucho Club
Groucho Club
The Groucho Club is a well-known private social club located at Dean Street in Soho, London. Its members are mostly drawn from the media, entertainment, arts and fashion industries....
in 1997 that blinded him in one eye, Pickering went to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
in the last stages of the civil war, and produced The Leopard's Wife
The Leopard's Wife
The Leopard's Wife is the fifth novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published by Simon & Schuster in the United States and United Kingdom in 2010...
to favourable reviews. He then went to Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
for his most recent novel Over the Rainbow
Over the Rainbow (novel)
Over the Rainbow is the sixth novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It is an often darkly comic love story set against the background of the war and aid work in Afghanistan. It is to be published by Simon & Schuster on 1 March 2012...
, which will be published in 2012. Pickering has written short stories, poems and articles for publications all over the world. His work has been compared to that of Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
and Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
.
Personal Life
Pickering married Alice (née Beckett) in 1983 in Mahé in the Seychelles. They have one daughter, Persephone, born 1993.Honours and Awards
- 1985 Wild About HarryWild About Harry (novel)Wild About Harry is the first novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1985 and Collins in 1986. The book was published in America by Atheneum Books in 1985...
long listed for the 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...
. - 1986 Perfect EnglishPerfect EnglishPerfect English is the second blackly comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It is based on his own experience as an "Internationalista" in the war in Nicaragua against the Contras...
long listed for the 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...
. - 1989 The Blue Gate of BabylonThe Blue Gate of BabylonThe Blue Gate of Babylon is the third comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering, published by Chatto & Windus and Penguin Books in the United Kingdom and Random House in the United States, was long-listed for the Booker Prize, became a New York Times notable book of the year and saw Pickering...
long listed for the 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...
. - 1989 Top Ten Young British Novelists.
- 1989 The Blue Gate of BabylonThe Blue Gate of BabylonThe Blue Gate of Babylon is the third comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering, published by Chatto & Windus and Penguin Books in the United Kingdom and Random House in the United States, was long-listed for the Booker Prize, became a New York Times notable book of the year and saw Pickering...
The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
notable book of the year.
Novels
- Wild About HarryWild About Harry (novel)Wild About Harry is the first novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published by Weidenfeld & Nicholson in 1985 and Collins in 1986. The book was published in America by Atheneum Books in 1985...
(1985) - Perfect EnglishPerfect EnglishPerfect English is the second blackly comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It is based on his own experience as an "Internationalista" in the war in Nicaragua against the Contras...
(1986) - The Blue Gate of BabylonThe Blue Gate of BabylonThe Blue Gate of Babylon is the third comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering, published by Chatto & Windus and Penguin Books in the United Kingdom and Random House in the United States, was long-listed for the Booker Prize, became a New York Times notable book of the year and saw Pickering...
(1989) - Charlie PeaceCharlie Peace (novel)Charlie Peace is the controversial comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published in the United States by Random House but not in the United Kingdom because of fears of Christian blasphemy prosecutions against the background of The Satanic Verses controversy- Plot Summary :Criminal...
(1991) - The Leopard's WifeThe Leopard's WifeThe Leopard's Wife is the fifth novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It was published by Simon & Schuster in the United States and United Kingdom in 2010...
(2010) - Over the RainbowOver the Rainbow (novel)Over the Rainbow is the sixth novel by British writer Paul Pickering. It is an often darkly comic love story set against the background of the war and aid work in Afghanistan. It is to be published by Simon & Schuster on 1 March 2012...
(2012)
External links
- Debrett's People of Today 21 August 2005
- Collected reviews
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster USA.
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster UK.
- Paul Pickering's website