Chris Cleave (born 1973) is a British writer and journalist.

Biography

Cleave was born in London on 14 May 1973, brought up in

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, and educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he studied experimental psychology. He lives in the UK with his French wife and three children.

Writing

Cleave's

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

'' Incendiary'' was published in twenty countries and has been adapted into a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film (often abbreviated to feature), also called a theatrical film, is a film (Film, motion picture, "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole present ...

starring

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

and Ewan McGregor. The novel won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The audiobook version was read by Australian actor Susan Lyons. His second novel, '' The Other Hand'', was released in August 2008 and was described as "A powerful piece of art... shocking, exciting and deeply affecting... superb" by ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''. It has been shortlisted for the 2008

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in United Kingdom, UK and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first ...

in the Novel category. Cleave was inspired to write ''The Other Hand'' from his childhood in West Africa. It was released in the US and Canada in January 2009 under the title ''Little Bee''. Gold, his third novel, was called "bold and brave" by ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''. Cleave is a columnist for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in London. From 2008 until 2010 he wrote a column for ''The Guardian'' entitled "Down with the kids".

Bibliography

Novels

* '' Incendiary'' (2005) * '' The Other Hand'' (2008,

Sceptre A sceptre (or scepter in American English) is a Staff of office, staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of regalia, royal or imperial insignia, signifying Sovereignty, sovereign authority. Antiquity Ancient Egypt and M ...

), published as ''Little Bee'' in the United States and Canada. * ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

'' (2012) * ''Everyone Brave Is Forgiven'' (2016)

Short stories

* "Quiet Time" * "Fresh Water" * "Oyster"''3:AM London, New York, Paris'' (anthology) (Social Disease, 2008)

References

External links

*
Guardian columnsInterview with the Irish Tribune

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleave, Chris 1973 births Living people Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford 21st-century English novelists British postmodern writers People educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School English male novelists 21st-century English male writers