Lucy Caldwell (born 1981) is a Northern Irish playwright and novelist. She was the winner of the 2021

BBC National Short Story Award BBC National Short Story Award is a British literary award for short stories. It was founded in 2005 by the NESTA (the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) with support from BBC Radio 4 and ''Prospect'' magazine. The winner re ...

Biography

Born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1981 in what she later described as into

one of the darkest and most turbulent years of the Troubles: the year the hunger strikes began, when within a few months Bobby Sands and nine others died; when things seemed to be spiralling irrevocably out of control.

She studied at

Strathearn School Strathearn School is an 11–18 girls voluntary grammar school in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. History In 1864, of land were bought by William Mullan and Robert Mullan, on which Strathearn House was built. In 1904, Mullan sold ...

and later at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with a First-Class Degree, and

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

, London. Caldwell left the city she had always considered "boring, introverted" in 1999, but later declared: "yes, it's true: I do love this city, and I do love these streets, and I am proud to be from here." In June 2004, Caldwell's first short play, ''The River'', was performed at the

Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama , image_name = Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.jpg , image_size = , motto = , established = 1949 , type = Public , staff = , vice_chancellor = , students = 779 (2017/18) , undergrad ...

, and subsequently the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The play won her the PMA Most Promising Playwright Award. Caldwell spent time as writer-on-attachment to the National Theatre in 2005. Her first full-length play, ''Leaves'', won the 2006

George Devine Award George Alexander Cassady Devine (20 November 1910 – 20 January 1966) was an English theatrical manager, director, teacher, and actor based in London from the early 1930s until his death. He also worked in TV and film. Early life and education ...

, the 2007

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

and the BBC Stewart Parker Award. In 2007 it was produced by the

Druid Theatre Company The Druid Theatre Company, referred to as Druid, is an Irish theatre company, based in Galway, Ireland. As well as touring extensively across Ireland, the company's productions have played internationally to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the ...

, and directed by

Garry Hynes Garry Hynes (born 10 June 1953) is an Irish theatre director. She was the first woman to win the prestigious Tony Award for direction of a play. Biography Hynes was born in Ballaghaderreen, County Roscommon, and educated at St. Louis Convent at ...

. The play premiered in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

before transferring to the

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England ...

. Her second full-length play, ''Guardians'', premiered at the 2009 HighTide Festival in Halesworth. Reviewing the production, critic Michael Billington wrote: " aldwellwrites with real power about lost love. I was much moved." ''Notes to Future Self'' was produced at the

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre ...

in March 2011, directed by Rachel Kavanaugh. It was described in ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' as "Brave, beautiful, and quite extraordinary". Caldwell's first novel, '' Where They Were Missed'', set in Belfast and

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconn ...

, was published in February 2006 and short-listed for the 2006

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published ...

. It was described by ''

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'' as "a debut reminiscent of

Ian McEwan Ian Russell McEwan, (born 21 June 1948) is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, ''The Times'' featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and ''The Daily Telegraph'' ranked him number 19 in its list of th ...

's '' The Cement Garden'' and Trezza Azzopardi's '' The Hiding Place''. Caldwell's second novel, ''The Meeting Point'', centred on a young Irish missionary couple who journey to

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, was published in February 2011 by Faber. It was described by the '' Sunday Times'' as "Compelling, passionate and deeply resonant", and by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as "haunting... compulsively readable". Caldwell's radio play, ''Girl From Mars'', broadcast by

BBC Radio 4 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' ...

in 2008, won the Irish Playwrights' and Screenwriters' Guild Award ("ZeBBie") for Best Radio Play and the BBC's

Richard Imison Award The Richard Imison Award is an award which recognises the best radio drama, generally by a writer new to the industry, and is now awarded as part of the BBC Audio Drama Awards. It was established in 1994 and commemorates the life and work of Richa ...

for best script by a writer new to radio. In their verdict, the judges said:

This is a gripping and powerful depiction of the effect on a family when one sibling goes missing. The beautifully-told story begins when a body is found and the remaining daughter returns to be with her family while they await identification. Girl From Mars is moving and emotionally taut. It veers away from sentimentality and felt personal and believable. The structure is complex – combining three different timescales – and uses radio to its full potential, using many techniques including voice-overs, dialogue, text messages, and voice mail. The story has a shades-of-grey resolution about the way a person's life can tragically stop short – and this is echoed in the subtle way the writer ends her own play too.

In 2012, Caldwell was the recipient of a Major Individual Artist Award from the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Her novel, '' All the Beggars Riding'', published in 2013, was shortlisted for both the

Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award The Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award is an annual award for Irish authors of fiction, established in 1995. It was previously known as the Kerry Ingredients Book of the Year Award (1995–2000), the Kerry Ingredients Irish Fiction Award ...

and the Fiction Uncovered selection and was chosen as Belfast's One City One Book. Caldwell won the 2021

for "All the People Were Mean and Bad".

Novels and plays

Novels

* '' Where They Were Missed'' (Faber, 2005) , * '' The Meeting Point'' (Faber, 2011) , * ''All the Beggars Riding'' (Faber, 2013) , * '' Multitudes: eleven stories'' (Faber, 2016) , * ''These Days'' (Faber, 2022)

Stage plays

* ''Leaves'' (2007) , ; Chapel Lane, Galway, transferring to the Royal Court (Upstairs), London * ''Carnival'' (2008) produced by Kabosh at Edinburgh Festival Spiegeltent * ''Guardians'' (2009) * ''The Luthier'' (2009) Origin Theatre Company as part of the New York 1st Irish Festival * ''Notes to Future Self'' (2011) at Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company * ''Hier Soir, Demain Soir'' (2012), commissioned by the Comédie de Valence, for Festival Ambivalence(s)

Radio plays

* ''Girl from Mars'' (2008) BBC Radio 4 * ''Avenues of Eternal Peace'' (2009) BBC Radio 4 * The Watcher on the Wall (2013) BBC Radio 4

Awards and honours

* 2006:

for ''Leaves'' * 2007: Susan Smith Blackburn Award for ''Leaves'' * 2009: Irish Playwrights' and Screenwriters' Guild Award for ''Girl From Mars'' * 2009:

for ''Girl From Mars'' * 2011:

Rooney Prize for Irish Literature The Rooney Prize for Irish Literature was created in 1976 by the Irish American businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers franchise and former US Ambassador to Ireland. The prize is awarded to Irish writers aged ...

. * 2011:

for ''The Meeting Point'' * 2013: Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award (shortlisted) for ''All the Beggars Riding'' * 2018: Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative. * 2021:

for "All the People Were Mean and Bad".

References

External links

Official website
* David Evans

''The Independent'', 16 March 2013. * Lucy Caldwell's All the Beggars Riding is Belfast’s choice for One City One Book 2013 (Wednesday 6 February 2013) http://www.artscouncil-ni.org/news/lucy-caldwells-all-the-beggars-riding-is-belfasts-choice-for-one-city-one-b *

Boyd Tonkin Boyd Tonkin Hon. FRSL is an English writer, journalist and literary critic. He was the literary editor of ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 2013. A long-time proponent of foreign-language literature, he is the author of ''The 100 Best Nov ...

"One Minute With: Lucy Caldwell"
''The Independent'', 1 February 2013. * Freya McClelland

''The Independent'', 11 February 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Lucy 1981 births Living people 21st-century novelists from Northern Ireland 21st-century women writers from Northern Ireland Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Date of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature People educated at Strathearn School Women dramatists and playwrights from Northern Ireland Women novelists from Northern Ireland Writers from Belfast