Simon Lewis
Encyclopedia
Simon Lewis is a novelist and screenwriter, born in Newport
, Monmouthshire
, in 1971. He went to school in Monmouth
then studied Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College
in London
.
After graduation he travelled extensively in Asia before beginning work as a travel writer for Rough Guides
publishing. He has since worked on five editions of the Rough Guide to China
and is sole author of the Rough Guide to Shanghai
and the Rough Guide to Beijing
.
His first novel, Go, a thriller about backpackers, was written in a village in the Himalayas
. It was first published by small press Pulp Books in 1998, but, following favourable press, was picked up by Corgi(1999). It has since been translated into Swedish, German and Italian.
His second novel, Bad Traffic, is a crime thriller about people smugglers. It was published in 2008 by Sort of Books, and in 2009 by Scribner in the US. It has been translated into Swedish, German, Italian, French, Japanese and Turkish.
Simon was selected as one of 21 'writers to watch' at the 2008 the Guardian
Hay Festival
.
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
, Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire (historic)
Monmouthshire , also known as the County of Monmouth , is one of thirteen ancient counties of Wales and a former administrative county....
, in 1971. He went to school in Monmouth
Monmouth
Monmouth is a town in southeast Wales and traditional county town of the historic county of Monmouthshire. It is situated close to the border with England, where the River Monnow meets the River Wye with bridges over both....
then studied Art and Art History at Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths College
Goldsmiths, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom which specialises in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It was founded in 1891 as Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute...
in 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...
.
After graduation he travelled extensively in Asia before beginning work as a travel writer for Rough Guides
Rough Guides
Rough Guides Ltd is a travel guidebook and reference publisher, owned by Pearson PLC. Their travel titles cover more than 200 destinations, and are distributed worldwide through the Penguin Group...
publishing. He has since worked on five editions of the Rough Guide to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and is sole author of the Rough Guide to Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and the Rough Guide to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
His first novel, Go, a thriller about backpackers, was written in a village in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. It was first published by small press Pulp Books in 1998, but, following favourable press, was picked up by Corgi(1999). It has since been translated into Swedish, German and Italian.
His second novel, Bad Traffic, is a crime thriller about people smugglers. It was published in 2008 by Sort of Books, and in 2009 by Scribner in the US. It has been translated into Swedish, German, Italian, French, Japanese and Turkish.
Simon was selected as one of 21 'writers to watch' at the 2008 the Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Hay 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"...
.
Fiction
- Bad Traffic, published by Scribner, ISBN 978-1416596042
- Go, published by Corgi, ISBN 0-552-14717-6
Short Story
- All Hail the New PuritansNew PuritansThe New Puritans was a literary movement ascribed to the contributors to a 2000 anthology of short stories entitled All Hail the New Puritans, edited by Nicholas Blincoe and Matt Thorne. The project is said to have been inspired by the Dogme 95 manifesto for cinematic minimalism and authenticity...
, a collection of stories edited by Nicholas BlincoeNicholas BlincoeNicholas Blincoe is an English author, critic and screenwriter. He is the author of six novels, Acid Casuals , Jello Salad , Manchester Slingback , The Dope Priest , White Mice , Burning Paris...
and Matt ThorneMatt ThorneMatt Thorne is an English writer born in 1974 who has published seven novels. Thorne grew up in Bristol, England, and was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University. Thorne's first book, Tourist, was published in 1998. The book is an attack on the negative effects of tourism on...
, published by Fourth Estate, ISBN 978-1841153490 - Fortune Hotel, a collection of stories edited by Sarah Champion, published by Penguin Fiction, ISBN 0-14-028108-8
Awards and nominations
- Bad traffic (Trafic Sordide) has been shortlisted for the Villeneuve les Avignon festival of crime fiction.
- Bad traffic (Trafic Sordide) was shortlisted for the Prix SNCF du Polar.
- Bad Traffic was shortlisted for The 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize (mystery/thriller section).http://events.latimes.com/bookprizes/previous-winners/year-2008/
- Bad Traffic featured in the 2009 world book day 'Spread the Word' promotion.
- Bradt Travel GuidesBradt Travel GuidesBradt Travel Guides is a publisher of travel guides founded by Hilary Bradt who was awarded an MBE in 2008 for services to the Tourist Industry and to Charity....
travel writing competition finalist in 2006.