Andrew Cowan (born 1960) is an English

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and nonfiction author, who directed the creative writing programme at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

in 2008–18. His six novels include ''

Pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), also called swine (: swine) or hog, is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is named the domestic pig when distinguishing it from other members of the genus '' Sus''. Some authorities cons ...

'' (1994).

Biography

Andrew Cowan was born in

Corby Corby is a town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England, northeast of Northampton. In 2021 it had a population of 68,164. From 1974 to 2021, it was the administrative headquarters of the Borough of ...

, Northamptonshire, in 1960, and educated at Beanfield Comprehensive and the

(UEA). He graduated from UEA with a BA in English & American Studies in 1983 and an MA in creative writing in 1985. His teachers on the MA were

Malcolm Bradbury Sir Malcolm Stanley Bradbury, (7 September 1932 – 27 November 2000) was an English author and academic. Life Bradbury was born in Sheffield, the son of a railwayman. His family moved to London in 1935, but returned to Sheffield in 1941 wit ...

and

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

. He was a tutor for the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

, and later the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

Writing Fellow at UEA for three years. He was appointed to the UEA faculty in 2004, and was the director of the UEA Creative Writing programme in 2008–18; he was promoted to a chair in 2012. He retired in 2023. He is also a potter.

Writings

His first novel, ''

'' (1994), won a

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35 who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total at least , with normally one author receiving a larger prize amount ( ...

, the

Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award The ''Sunday Times'' Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award is a literary prize awarded to a British author under the age of 35 for a published work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry. It is administered by the Society of Authors and has ...

, the Authors' Club First Novel Award, a

Scottish Arts Council The Scottish Arts Council (), was a Scottish public body responsible for the funding, development and promotion of the arts in Scotland. The Council primarily distributed funding from the Scottish Government as well as National Lottery funds ...

Book Award, the Ruth Hadden Memorial Award, and was shortlisted for five other literary awards. ''Common Ground'' (1996) and ''Crustaceans'' (2000) both received

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

bursaries. ''What I Know'' was the recipient of an Arts Council Writers' Award and was published in 2005. His fifth novel, ''Worthless Men'', was published in 2013, and his sixth novel, ''Your Fault'', in 2019. His creative writing guidebook, ''The Art of Writing Fiction'', was published in 2011, with a revised edition appearing in 2023. His monograph ''Against Creative Writing'' was published in 2022.

References

External links

* *
Andrew Cowan Archive, University of East Anglia

* Richard Beard {{DEFAULTSORT:Cowan, Andrew 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists 1960 births Alumni of the University of East Anglia Academics of the University of East Anglia Living people English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers People from Corby