Melissa Harrison
English novelist, short story and nature writer
Melissa Harrison (born 1975) is an English novelist, short story and nature writer.[1][2]
Early
Harrison was born in Effingham Junction, Surrey in 1975.[2] She attended a comprehensive school before studying English Literature at the University of Oxford, graduating in 1996.[1][2][3] After graduating, she worked as a freelance magazine subeditor, while contributing a regular "Nature Notes" column in The Times,[4] columns for The Guardian and contributions to radio and television.[5]
Literary career
Her first novel, Clay, was published by Bloomsbury in January 2013, followed by At Hawthorn Time in 2015.[6] Her non-fiction books include Rain: Four Walks in English Weather (2016).[7] A third novel, All Among the Barley, was published in August 2018.[8] Her short story "The Black Dog" was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017[9] and she has contributed episodes to the channel's Tweet of the Day programme.[10] She has also made appearances on the BBC Two series Springwatch.[11] During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, she began a nature diary podcast called The Stubborn Light of Things which formed the basis of a new memoir published in November 2020 that outlined her move from urban London to rural Suffolk.[12] Her first children's novel, By Ash, Oak and Thorn was published by Chicken House Books in May 2021.[13]
Awards
| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | At Hawthorn Time | Costa Book Awards | Novel | Shortlisted | |
| 2016 | Bailey Women's Prize for Fiction | — | Longlisted | ||
| Rain | Wainwright Prize | — | Longlisted | ||
| 2019 | All Among the Barley | European Union Prize for Literature | — | Won | [14] |
| 2021 | By Ash, Oak and Thorn | Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards | Children's | Shortlisted | [15] |
| The Stubborn Light of Things | East Anglian Book Awards | Book of the Year | Won | ||
| Independent Booksellers' Book Prize | — | Shortlisted | |||
| 2022 | By Rowan and Yew | Wainwright Prize | — | Shortlisted |
Bibliography
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (June 2024) |
Novels
- Clay (2013)
- At Hawthorn Time (2015
- All Among the Barley (2018)
Children's
- By Ash, Oak and Thorn (2021)
- By Rowan and Yew (2022)
Nature writing
- Rain: Four Walks in English Weather (2016)
- The Stubborn Light of Things: A Nature Diary (2020)
References
- ^ a b "Melissa Harrison". Rogers, Coleridge and White Ltd. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2017.
- ^ a b c "Melissa Harrison". The Bookseller. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ House, Christian (20 January 2013). "Melissa Harrison: A walk on the wild side". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 May 2022.
- ^ Kappala-Ramsamy, Gemma (23 January 2013). "Debut author: Melissa Harrison". The Guardian.
- ^ "Columns by Melissa Harrison". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ House, Christian (8 May 2015). "At Hawthorn Time by Melissa Harrison". The Daily Telegraph.(subscription required)
- ^ "Author: Melissa Harrison". Bloomsbury. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Melissa Harrison". The Nest Collective. Archived from the original on 7 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ^ "The Black Dog". BBC Radio 4. 10 March 2017.
- ^ "Tweet of the Day - Melissa Harrison on the Tawny Owl". BBC Radio 4. 1 May 2019.
- ^ "Springwatch". BBC Programmes. 15 June 2016.
- ^ "The Stubborn Light of Things". Melissa Harrison website. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
- ^ Sanders, Patrick (March 2021). "By Ash, Oak and Thorn". The School Reading List. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Melissa Harrison". European Union Prize for Literature. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- ^ "Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2021 shortlist announced". Booksellers Association. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
External links
- Melissa Harrison on Goodreads
- Richard Powers and nature writing Open Book, Alex Clark interviews Richard Powers, Melissa Harrison and Jessica J Lee 12:00-27min, BBC Radio 4 podcast, 28 August 2018, accessed 2 September 2018.
- Melissa Harrison – Novelist and Nature Writer Melissa’s personal website with links to her books, podcast and other work.
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