Michael Carson is the pen name of British author Michael Wherly. He is best known for his Benson

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wo ...

of novels, about a young man growing up

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...

Childhood and education

Carson was born in 1946 in

Wallasey Wallasey () is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England; until 1974, it was part of the historic county of Cheshire. It is situated at the mouth of the River Mersey, at the north-eastern corner of the Wirral Pe ...

, in the north-west of England. He was brought up as a devout Catholic. After attending Aberystwyth and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

universities, and training at

International House World Organisation International House World Organisation is a worldwide network of 160 language schools and teacher training institutes in more than 50 countries. International House was founded in 1953 by John Haycraft and his wife Brita Haycraft in Cordoba (Sp ...

in London, he spent twenty years teaching

English as a Foreign Language English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EF ...

primarily in the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. He has lectured in writing at

Liverpool John Moores University , mottoeng = Fortune favours the bold , established = 1823 – Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts1992 – Liverpool John Moores University , type = Public , endowment = , coor ...

, the

University of Liverpool , mottoeng = These days of peace foster learning , established = 1881 – University College Liverpool1884 – affiliated to the federal Victoria Universityhttp://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/2004/4 University of Manchester Act 200 ...

and the

University of Lancaster , mottoeng = Truth lies open to all , established = , endowment = £13.9 million , budget = £317.9 million , type = Public , city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster , country = England , coor = , campus = Bailrigg , faculty = ...

. He mentors for Crossing Borders, a project to encourage African writers. Carson won the Writers Inc prize in 2006 for his story ''All over the Place.'' He has also worked as a

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

Short stories

Carson released a collection of short stories in 1993, ''Serving Suggestions'', published by Victor Gollancz (), which includes "

The Punishment of Luxury "The Punishment of Luxury" is a short story written by Michael Carson. It was published within the book '' Serving Suggestions: Stories'' (a collection of 26 short stories) in 1993. This utopian, or rather dystopian story deals with the con ...

". A further collection of short stories, ''The Rule of Twelfths'', was published by Headland in May 2008. Fifty short stories by Michael Carson have also featured on

BBC Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC ...

.tellyouatale.com

Novels

Benson trilogy

*''Sucking Sherbet Lemons'' *''Stripping Penguins Bare'' *''Yanking Up The Yoyo'' *''Benson at Sixty'' (2011)

Other novels

*''Friends and Infidels'' *''Coming Up Roses'' *''Demolishing Babel'' *''Dying in Style'' *''Hubbies'' *''The Knight of the Flaming Heart'' * ''The Rule of Twelfths and Other Stories''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carson, Michael British writers 1946 births Living people People from Wallasey Alumni of Aberystwyth University Academics of Liverpool John Moores University Academics of the University of Liverpool Academics of Lancaster University