Courttia Newland (born 25 August 1973) is a British writer of Jamaican and Barbadian heritage.

Background

Born in 1973 in

west London West London is the western part of London, England, north of the River Thames, west of the City of London, and extending to the Greater London boundary. The term is used to differentiate the area from the other parts of London: Central London, N ...

, to parents of Caribbean heritage, Newland grew up in

Shepherd's Bush Shepherd's Bush is a suburb of West London, England, within the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham west of Charing Cross, and identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Although primarily residential in character, its ...

, where he became a rapper and music producer who, together with friends, released a

Drum n' Bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre ...

white label White label may refer to: * White-label product, a permitted replication and rebranding of a product * White label record, records with plain white labels attached. * White Label Music, an independent record label based in the United Kingdom * ''Wh ...

Writing

Novels

In 1997, Newland published his first novel, ''The Scholar''. Further novels followed, including ''Society Within'' (1999), ''Snakeskin'' (2002) and ''The Gospel According to Cane'' (2013). His most recent novel, ''A River Called Time'' was published in 2021 to generally positive critical attention, with ''

Kirkus ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, non ...

'' stating: "This is an ambitiously imagined book that, by removing the European lens on African cultures, creates a new reality that allows us to question how we view our own. Complex and multilayered, this novel opens the door to the possibilities of noncolonial worlds." For the '' TLS'' reviewer: "Courttia Newland's new novel presents us with a dystopian multiverse imagined at thrilling scale." Adam Roberts concluded that "no one can doubt the sheer energy and verve of Newland's vision", while ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' said: "This is sure to please fans of thought-provoking speculative fiction." In July 2022, ''A River Called Time'' was announced on the shortlist of the

Arthur C. Clarke Award The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award ...

(alongside books by

Kazuo Ishiguro is a Japanese-born English novelist, screenwriter, musician, and short-story writer. He is one of the most critically acclaimed contemporary fiction authors writing in English, having been awarded several major literary prizes, including the 2 ...

Harry Josephine Giles Harry Josephine Giles (born 1986) is a British writer, singer, and poet who previously lived on Orkney. In 2022, they won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for their novel '' Deep Wheel Orcadia''. Personal life Giles is non-binary. They were broug ...

Arkady Martine AnnaLinden Weller, better known under her pen name Arkady Martine (born April 19, 1985), is an American author of science fiction literature. Her first novels '' A Memory Called Empire'' (2019) and '' A Desolation Called Peace'' (2021), which for ...

, Mercurio D. Rivera and

Aliya Whiteley Aliya Whiteley (born 1974) is a British novelist, short story writer and poet. Biography Aliya Whiteley was born in Barnstaple, North Devon, in 1974 and grew up in the seaside town of Ilfracombe which formed the inspiration for many of her sto ...

Plays

Newland wrote his first play, ''Estates of Mind'', in 1998. His second play, an adaptation of

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

' '' The Women of Troy'', was a success at the 1999

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

, being followed in 2000 by his third play was ''The Far Side''. His subsequent productions include ''Mother's Day'' (2002), ''B is for Black'' (2003), ''Whistling Maggie'' (2005), ''Sweet Yam Kisses'' (2006), ''White Open Spaces – A Question of Courage'' (2006), and ''Look to the Sky'' (2011).

Other literary activity

In 2000, Newland co-edited (with

Kadija Sesay Kadija George , Hon. FRSL (born 1962), also known as Kadija Sesay, is a British literary activist, short story writer and poet of Sierra Leonean descent, and the publisher and managing editor of the magazine ''SABLE LitMag''. Her work has earne ...

) the anthology ''IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain'' (reissued in a 20th-anniversary edition), and his short stories have featured in many other anthologies, including ''The Time Out Book of London Short Stories: Vol 2'', ''England Calling:24 Stories for the 21st Century'' and '' Disco 2000''. He co-edited ''The Global Village'' (2009) with

Monique Roffey Monique Pauline Roffey (born 1965) is a Trinidadian-born British writer and memoirist. Her novels have been much acclaimed, winning awards including the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, for ''Archipelago'', and the Costa Book o ...

. Newland tours extensively for the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, and has been writer-in-residence for

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, and

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Washington DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. He has also been a writer-in-residence for the charity

First Story First Story is an English charity that encourages children and young people to write creatively, outside the curriculum, for self-expression and pleasure. Its aim is to empower children and young people from low-income communities to find and dev ...

. He has taught creative writing workshops and performed readings in countries as diverse as Russia,

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, and

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. He was a

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 ...

Fellow at the

London College of Communication The London College of Communication is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. Its origins are in education for the printing and retail industries; it now specialises in media-related subjects including advertising, animation ...

(2003–2004). With Tania Hershman, he co-authored the guide ''Writing Short Stories: A Writers' and Artists' Companion'' (Bloomsbury, 2015). Newland was a co-writer for

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

's five-part anthology film series '' Small Axe'', broadcast in November 2020.

Awards and recognition

Newland was shortlisted for the 2007

Crime Writers' Association The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) is a specialist authors' organisation in the United Kingdom, most notable for its "Dagger" awards for the best crime writing of the year, and the Diamond Dagger awarded to an author for lifetime achievement. ...

Dagger in the Library The Dagger in the Library (Golden Handcuffs in 1992–1994) is an annual award given by the British Crime Writers' Association to a particular "living author who has given the most pleasure to readers". Yearly shortlists are drawn up of the ten auth ...

Award, the 2010

Alfred Fagon Award The Alfred Fagon Award is granted annually for the best new play by a Black British playwright of Caribbean or African descent, resident in the United Kingdom. It was instituted in 1996 and first awarded in 1997, to recognise the work of Black Bri ...

and longlisted for the 2011

Frank O'Connor Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

. In 2016, he was awarded the Tayner Barbers Award for science fiction writing and the Roland Rees Bursary for playwriting. In 2022, Newland's novel ''A River Called Time'' was shortlisted for the

Books

* ''The Scholar'', novel (London: Abacus, 1997;

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries, it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emil ...

, 2001, ) * ''Society Within'', novel (London: Abacus, 1999; Little, Brown, 2000, ) * ''Snakeskin'', novel (London: Abacus, 2002) * ''The Dying Wish: A James and Sinclair Mystery'', novella (London: Abacus, 2006) * ''Music for the Off-Key: 12 Macabre Short Stories'', short-story collection (London:

Peepal Tree Press Peepal Tree Press is a publisher based in Leeds, England which publishes Caribbean, Black British, and South Asian fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama and academic books. Poet Kwame Dawes has said: "Peepal Tree Press's position as the leading pu ...

, 2006, ) * ''The Global Village'' (2009) * ''A Book of Blues'', short-story collection (Flambard Press, 2011, ) * ''The Gospel According to Cane'', novel (Saqi, 2013, ) * ''A River Called Time'', novel (

Canongate Books Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prize winning novel '' Life of Pi'' (2001 ...

, 2021, ) * ''Cosmogramma'' (Canongate Books, 2021, )

Play productions

* ''Estates of Mind'', London, The Post Office Theatre, July 1998; * ''Women of Troy'' 2099, London, The Post Office Theatre, 31 July 1999; * ''The Far Side'', London, The Tricycle Theatre, Summer 13 August 2000; London, The Tabernacle Community Centre, 22 October 2001; * ''Mother’s Day'', Hammersmith, The Lyric Theatre, 16 September 2002; * ''B is for Black'', London,

Oval House Theatre Ovalhouse, formerly called Oval House Theatre, was an Off-West End theatre in the London Borough of Lambeth, located at 52–54 Kennington Oval, London, SE11 5SW. It closed in 2020, and moved to Brixton, becoming the Brixton House theatre (locate ...

, 14 October 2003; * ''Whistling Maggie'', London, Oval House Theatre Upstairs, 29 November 2005; different production 13 June 2006; * ''Sweet Yam Kisses'', Hammersmith, The Lyric Theatre, 11 February 2006. * ''Look to the Sky'', National Tour, October–November 2011

Produced stories

* ''An Age Old Problem'', 10-minute motion picture, Brent Youth Arts Service Crime Diversion Project, Massive Video, 1996; * ''Rage'', 10-minute motion picture, written and directed by Newland, Massive Video, 1997;

References

External links

* * Richard Marshall
"A Little Bit More Upstairs: An Interview with Courttia Newland"
''3 AM Magazine'', 2002. * Dzifa Benson
Interview with Courttia Newland
itzcaribbean.com, 7 May 2006. * Ashish Ghadiali
"Interview , Courttia Newland: 'We're battering down barricades'"
''The Guardian'', 26 December 2020. * Tom Conaghan
"Courttia Newland: How I Wrote 'Reversible
''

Medium.com Medium is an American online publishing platform for written content such as articles and blogs, developed by Evan Williams and launched in August 2012. It is owned by A Medium Corporation. The platform is an example of social journalism, hav ...

'', 30 September 2021. * Courttia Newland
"A moment that changed me: a film director gave me the push I needed to finish my novel"
''The Guardian'', 20 April 2022.
Courttia Newland
at Writers Mosaic. {{DEFAULTSORT:Newland, Courttia 1973 births 21st-century British male writers 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English novelists British anthologists Black British writers English male dramatists and playwrights English people of Barbadian descent English people of Jamaican descent Living people Novelists from London People from Shepherd's Bush Theatre people from London Writers from the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham