Shena Mackay
Encyclopedia
Shena Mackay FRSL is a Scottish novelist born in Edinburgh
. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1996 for The Orchard on Fire
.
and eventually settled in Shoreham in Kent
from where she attended Tonbridge Grammar School
. Her writing career started with her winning a poetry competition in the Daily Mirror at age 16. Leaving school her first publication was a volume of two novellas, Dust Falls on Eugene Schlumburger/Toddler on the Run the following year.
She holds a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature
and is also Honorary Visiting Professor at Middlesex University
. In an interview with The Telegraph
in 2004 Shena explained that she is synaesthetic and "sees words as colours", her own name is yellow.
She is the mother of painter Cecily Brown
with art critic David Sylvester
.
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. She was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction in 1996 for The Orchard on Fire
The Orchard on Fire
The Orchard on Fire is a 1995 novel, the best known work of British author Shena Mackay. It has been identified as one of the best novels of the 1990s.-Plot introduction:...
.
Biography
After the war her family moved to HampsteadHampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
and eventually settled in Shoreham in Kent
Shoreham, Kent
Shoreham is a village and civil parish in the valley of the River Darent six miles north of Sevenoaks in Kent: it is in the District of Sevenoaks. The parish includes the settlements of Badgers Mount and Well Hill....
from where she attended Tonbridge Grammar School
Tonbridge Grammar School
Tonbridge Grammar School is a state school in Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom. There are approximately 1050 students ranging from 11 to 18 years. It was previously known as Tonbridge Grammar School for Girls but with the introduction of boys in the sixth form in 2002, the school changed its name...
. Her writing career started with her winning a poetry competition in the Daily Mirror at age 16. Leaving school her first publication was a volume of two novellas, Dust Falls on Eugene Schlumburger/Toddler on the Run the following year.
She holds a Fellowship of the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
and is also Honorary Visiting Professor at Middlesex University
Middlesex University
Middlesex University is a university in north London, England. It is located in the historic county boundaries of Middlesex from which it takes its name. It is one of the post-1992 universities and is a member of Million+ working group...
. In an interview with The Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
in 2004 Shena explained that she is synaesthetic and "sees words as colours", her own name is yellow.
She is the mother of painter Cecily Brown
Cecily Brown
Cecily Brown, born 1969 in London, is a British painter. She has a great respect for art history and her works reveal her reverence and high regard for artists such as Francisco de Goya, Nicolas Poussin, Willem de Kooning, and Joan Mitchell while incorporating into her works her distinct female...
with art critic David Sylvester
David Sylvester
Anthony David Bernard Sylvester CBE, was a British art critic and curator. Although he received no formal education in the arts, during his long career he was influential in promoting modern artists, in particular the work of Joan Miró, Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.Born into a well connected...
.
Works
- Dust Falls on Eugene Schlumburger/Toddler on the Run (1964)
- Music Upstairs (1965)
- Old Crow (1967)
- An Advent Calendar (1971)
- Babies in Rhinestones and Other Stories (1983)
- A Bowl of Cherries (1984)
- Redhill Rococo (1986)
- Dreams of Dead Women's Handbags (1987)
- Dunedin (1992)
- Such Devoted Sisters: An Anthology of Stories (1993) (editor)
- The Laughing Academy (1993)
- Collected Short Stories (1994)
- The Orchard on FireThe Orchard on FireThe Orchard on Fire is a 1995 novel, the best known work of British author Shena Mackay. It has been identified as one of the best novels of the 1990s.-Plot introduction:...
(1995) - Friendship: An Anthology (1997) (editor)
- The Artist's WidowThe Artist's WidowThe Artist's Widow is a novel written by British author Shena Mackay and first published in 1998 by Jonathan Cape. It is mentioned twice in the Bloomsbury Good Reading Guide and according to the The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature this 'satire on modern artistic values, is one of...
(1998) - The World's Smallest Unicorn and Other Stories (1999)
- HeligolandHeligoland (novel)Heligoland, is a novel by British author Shena Mackay, first published in 2003 by Jonathan Cape.It was shortlisted for both Whitbread Prize and the Orange Prize for Fiction...
(2003) - The Atmospheric Railway (2006)
Awards and nominations
- Fawcett SocietyFawcett SocietyThe Fawcett Society is an organisation in the United Kingdom which campaigns for women's rights. The organisation's roots date back to 1866 when Millicent Garrett Fawcett dedicated her life to the peaceful campaign for women's suffrage....
Book Prize (1987) for Redhill Rococo - Scottish Arts CouncilScottish Arts CouncilThe Scottish Arts Council is a Scottish public body that distributes funding from the Scottish Government, and is the leading national organisation for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland...
Book Award (1994) for Dunedin - Booker Prize for Fiction (1996) (shortlist) for The Orchard on Fire
- 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...
(2003) (shortlist) for Heligoland - Whitbread Novel Award (2003) (shortlisted) for Heligoland
External links
- Bohemian Rhapsodist - The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- A Writer's Life: Shena Mackay - The TelegraphThe Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
- Shena Mackay interview