Elizabeth Day (born 10 November 1978) is an English novelist, journalist and broadcaster. She was a feature writer for ''

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'' ...

'' from 2007 to 2016, and wrote for ''

You In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

'' magazine. Day has written nine books, and is also the host of the podcast ''How to Fail with Elizabeth Day''.

Early life

Day was born to Tom and Christine Day in England but was raised in Northern Ireland after her father became a general surgeon at Altnagelvin Hospital in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

. Day became interested in being a writer when she was seven and became a youth columnist for the ''

Derry Journal The ''Derry Journal'' is a newspaper based in Derry, Northern Ireland, serving Derry as well as County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. It is operated by National World. The paper is published on Tuesday and Friday and is a sister paper of ...

'' at the age of 12. She attended

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

and

Malvern St James Malvern St James School is an independent school in Great Malvern, Worcestershire, England. Founded in 1893 as Malvern Girls' College, it was renamed Malvern St James following a merger in 2006 with St James's School in West Malvern. It continue ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, before going on to obtain a double first in History from

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

Journalism

After graduating, Day initially intended to obtain a master's degree in journalism, but was instead offered a job for the ''

Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free newspaper, free of charge in London, Engl ...

'' on the ''Londoner's Diary'' feature by

Max Hastings Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British journalist and military historian, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of ''The Daily Telegraph'', and editor of the ''Evening Standard''. ...

. Day remained at the ''Standard'' for a year before joining ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, first published on 5 February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Tele ...

'' as a news reporter, initially on a three-month trial. While working for the ''Telegraph'', Day won the Young Journalist of the Year Award at the 2004

British Press Awards The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. History Established in 1962 by ''The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named Ha ...

. After leaving the ''Telegraph'', Day wrote features for ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

'' and ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

''. From 2007 until 2016, Day was a feature writer for ''

'', gaining a commendation in the "Feature Writer of the Year (Broadsheet") category at the 2012 Press Awards.

Podcast

In 2018, Day began her own podcast series, ''How to Fail with Elizabeth Day'', in which she interviews guests who discuss what their failures taught them. The first episode featured

Phoebe Waller-Bridge Phoebe Mary Waller-Bridge (born 14 July 1985) is an English actress, screenwriter and producer. As the creator, writer, and lead star of the comedy series '' Fleabag'' (2016–2019), she won various accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Aw ...

, and subsequent interviewees have included

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem ( ; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social movement, social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British Middle-distance running, middle distance Track and field, athlete and television personality. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres, 800 and 1500 metres events and won gold medals for ...

Nadiya Hussain Nadiya Jamir Hussain (''née'' Begum; born 25 December 1984) is a British television chef, author and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the sixth series of BBC's ''The Great British Bake Off'' in 2015. Since winning, she ...

Bernardine Evaristo Bernardine Anne Mobolaji Evaristo (born 28 May 1959) is an English author and academic. Her novel ''Girl, Woman, Other'' jointly won the Booker Prize in 2019 alongside Margaret Atwood's ''The Testaments'', making her the first Black woman to win ...

and Adam Buxton. The podcast won the Rising Star Award at the 2019

British Podcast Awards The British Podcast Awards is an annual awards ceremony intended to celebrate outstanding content within the British podcast scene. The British Podcast Awards is owned and operated by Haymarket Media Group, which also owns several media businesse ...

Books

Day's first novel, ''Scissors Paper Stone'', was published in 2012 and won the

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 ( ...

for debut novels by writers under the age of 35. The book, recounting the impact of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

by a family patriarch, received mixed reviews, with Melissa Katsoulis of ''

'' describing Day as "a thoughtful and conscientious new voice in fiction", while conversely Catherine Taylor of ''

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 ...

'' stated Day's writing style "ultimately disengages the reader". Day's second novel, ''Home Fires'' (2012), details two connected women responding to the aftermaths of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the conflict in South Sudan, respectively, as well as the impact of the ageing of loved ones. Viv Groskop in ''

'' praised Day's writing and described the book as "a beautifully written novel whose quietly discomfiting tone stays with you for a long while afterwards". Day's third novel, ''Paradise City'' (2015), received positive reviews internationally, including praise by Charles Shafaieh of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', who called the novel's depiction of life in contemporary London as a "testament" to Day's skills as a writer, in addition to a positive review by

Amanda Craig Amanda Craig (born 1959) is a British novelist, critic and journalist. Early life Born in South Africa, Craig grew up in Italy before moving to London. Her parents were British journalist, author and UN Press Officer Dennis Craig and Sout ...

in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

''. Day's fourth novel, ''The Party'' (2017), was described as a "slow-burner of a literary thriller" and a "gripping page-turner" by Lucy Scholes of ''The Observer''. Day's fifth book and first work of non-fiction was ''How to Fail: Everything I've Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong'', a tie-in with her podcast which was published in 2019 and received a positive review from ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. Day's sixth book was also a non-fiction tie-in with her podcast; ''Failosophy: A Handbook for When Things Go Wrong'' (2020), featuring lessons she had learned from her own life as well as those of her readers, listeners and podcast guests. Day's seventh book, ''Magpie'', which explores the issue of infertility, was released in September 2021. It was Day's fifth novel, her first work of fiction since the publication of ''The Party'' in 2017. Day explored the issue of motherhood not being possible by choice and society's perspective of failure with Dr. Rangan Chatterjee on

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

show.

Television and radio

In 2020, Day was announced as the co-host of '' Sky Arts Book Club Live'' alongside Andi Oliver. The first series of six episodes aired that year. In 2021, Day was announced as one of the new hosts of '' Open Book'',

Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting ...

's book programme, alternating with

Johny Pitts Johny Pitts is an English television presenter, writer and photographer born in Firth Park, Sheffield in 1987. Biography He is of mixed-race heritage (his father Richie was from Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City, New York and w ...

. Day hosted her first episode on 17 January. Both her novel ''The Party'' and her memoir ''How to Fail'' are being made into TV shows, the former by

World Productions World Productions Limited is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017. History The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...

and the latter by

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

Pin Drop Studio

Day is co-founder of the cultural organisation Pin Drop Studio, which holds regular literature salons in London and other major cities, as well as the annual Pin Drop Short Story Award in collaboration with arts institution the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

."Elizabeth Day"
Pin Drop Studio biography.

Personal life

Day married journalist Kamal Ahmed, the Business Editor of

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, in December 2011. The couple separated in February 2015, and are now divorced. She dated the TV presenter

Rick Edwards Richard Edwards is an English television presenter, journalist, and author. Edwards presented T4 for four years, and has also presented ''Tool Academy'', ''Freshly Squeezed'', '' E4 Music'', and much of Channel 4's 2012 Paralympics coverage ...

when both were at Cambridge University. Day's second husband is Justin Basini (b. June 1974), the CEO and co-founder of ClearScore.

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''Scissors Paper Stone'' (2012) * ''Home Fires'' (2013) * ''Paradise City'' (2015) * ''The Party'' (2017) *''Magpie'' (2021)

Non-fiction

* ''How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong'' (2019) * ''Failosophy: A Handbook for When Things Go Wrong'' (2020) * ''Failosophy for Teens'' (2023) * ''Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict'' (2023)

References

External links

Elizabeth Day's Official website

Elizabeth Day
s contributor page, Guardian/Observer website
Elizabeth Day's Interview in Storizen Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Day, Elizabeth 1978 births Living people English women journalists 21st-century English novelists Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge 21st-century English journalists 21st-century English women writers London Evening Standard people English podcasters British women podcasters People educated at Malvern St James People educated at Methodist College Belfast