Louisa Young is a British novelist, songwriter, short-story writer, biographer and journalist, whose work has appeared in 32 languages. By 2023 she had published seven novels under her own name and five with her daughter, the actor Isabel Adomakoh Young, under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Zizou Corder. Her eleventh novel, ''Devotion'', appeared in June 2016. She has also written three non-fiction books, ''The Book of the Heart'' (Flamingo, 2000), ''A Great Task of Happiness: The Life of Kathleen Scott'' ( Macmillan, 1995; Lulu, 2012) and her memoir, ''You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol'' (Borough Press, 2018), an account of her relationship with the composer Robert Lockhart and of his alcoholism. Her most recent novel, ''Twelve Months and a Day'', was published in June 2022 (Borough Press) in the UK, and in the US in January 2023 (Putnam). She is currently working on three new volumes of The Cazalet Chronicles, by Elizabeth Jane Howard (MacMillan,from 2026). She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Prizes

Young's work has been nominated and shortlisted for prizes that include the

Orange Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

, the Costa Book of the Year, the Costa Novel of the Year, the Galaxy Audiobook of the Year Prize, which it won, the

Booktrust Teenage Prize The Booktrust Teenage Prize was an annual award given to young adult literature published in the UK. The prize was administered by Book Trust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading. The Booktrust Teenage Prize was last awarded ...

, the Carnegie Medal, the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

, the

Wellcome Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 ...

and the Folio Prize. It has been chosen by the Richard and Judy Book Club.

Early life

Louisa Young was born in London, England, to the politician and writer

Wayland Young Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet (2 August 1923 – 7 May 2009) was a British writer and politician, notably concerned with planning and conservation. As a Labour minister, he was responsible for setting up the Department of the Environme ...

(Lord Kennet) and Elizabeth Young, Lady Kennet. She has five siblings, including the sculptor Emily Young. She was educated at

Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...

's Hallfield Primary School, St Paul's Girls' School,

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where she read history.

Career

Young worked as a sub-editor, then as a freelance columnist and feature writer on national publications, including ''

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 ...

'', 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 ...

'', the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'', ''Tatler'', ''

Bike A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. B ...

'' and ''Motorcycle International''. She also worked at various stages as a despatch rider, a busker (double bass and vocals), a waitress, a kitchen-hand and a shop assistant. Her first book, ''A Great Task of Happiness'' (2012), was a biography of her grandmother Kathleen Scott, widow of

Robert Falcon Scott Captain Robert Falcon Scott (6 June 1868 – ) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–04 and the Terra Nova Expedition ...

, British Antarctic explorer, published by

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

in 1995. Then came three novels set in London and Egypt: ''Baby Love'', ''Desiring Cairo'' and ''Tree of Pearls'' (Flamingo). ''Baby Love'' was listed for the

. These were followed in 2002 by ''The Book of the Heart'', a cultural history of the heart as it is seen through art, religion, love and anatomy. In 2007 she was a curatorial advisor for the

Wellcome Foundation The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predeces ...

exhibition ''The Heart'', which was inspired by her book. She co-authored five books for children with her daughter, the actor Isabel Adomakoh Young: '' Lionboy'', ''Lionboy: The Chase'', ''Lionboy: The Truth'', ''Lee Raven, Boy Thief'', and ''Halo''. The Lionboy trilogy was translated into 36 languages, and they were among the first UK children's novels to have a mixed-race hero of colour. ''Halo'', set in ancient Greece, was shortlisted for the

in 2010, and nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 2011. The film rights to ''Lionboy'' have been sold three times, including twice to

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

's DreamWorks. A stage production by Complicité was directed by Annabel Arden, adapted by Marcelo Dos Santos with Arden, Young and the company, and starred Adetomiwa Edun. It opened in 2013 at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

and toured the UK to favourable reviews. It was reprised at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as n ...

, London, the New Victory Theatre, New York, and in Hong Kong and South Korea in 2014/2015. In 2011, she published ''My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You'', a First World War novel shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year Award and the

, which won the Galaxy Audiobook of the Year Award 2012, read by actor

Dan Stevens Daniel Jonathan Stevens (born 10 October 1982) is an English actor. He first drew international attention for his role as Matthew Crawley in the ITV period drama series ''Downton Abbey'' (2010–2012). He also starred as David in the thriller ...

and with music by Robert Lockhart. It was chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club in 2012; nominated for the

2013, and was BBC Radio Four's ''

Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22:45 and 23:00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classic ...

'' in January 2012, read by

Olivia Colman Sarah Caroline Sinclair ( Colman; born 30 January 1974), known professionally as Olivia Colman, is an English actress. She has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, four BAFTA Awards, two Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Award ...

. It was the London Cityread choice for 2014 and has been sold in 15 languages. ''The Heroes' Welcome'', a sequel, was published in the UK in 2014 and nominated for the Folio Prize that year. ''Devotion'', the third book in the series, was published in June 2016. She has contributed to various anthologies, including ''I Am Heathcliff'' (ed. Kate Mosse), ''Underground; Tales for London'' (ed. Ann Bissell), ''A Love Letter to Europe'' (Coronet) and ''Of The Flesh'' (ed. Suzie Dorée). Young's memoir ''You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol'' (Borough Press, 2018), covers her relationship with Robert Lockhart and difficult issues of addiction, talent, love, class and death. Her novel "Twelve Months and a Day" was published in the UK by Borough Press in June 2022, and by Putnam in the US in January 2023, when it was People Magazine's Book of the Week Young's music project "Birds of Britain" is a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer Alex Mackenzie. The debut album ''You Left Early'' (June 2018) is a collection of songs written by Young about the death of her fiancé.

Works

Fiction

Egypt trilogy

* ''Baby Love'' (London: Flamingo, 1997; Borough Press, 2015) * ''Desiring Cairo'' (Flamingo, 1999; Borough Press, 2015) * ''Tree of Pearls'' (Flamingo, 2000, Borough Press, 2015)

The First World War Trilogy

* ''My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You'' (HarperCollins, March 2011; Paperback: January 2012; US 2011) * ''The Heroes' Welcome'' (Borough Press, May 2014) * ''Devotion'' (Borough Press, June 2016)

Standalone

* ''Twelve Months and a Day'' (Borough Press, June 2022; Putnam 2023)

By Zizou Corder

Zizou Corder is the joint pseudonym of mother-and-daughter co-authors Louisa Young and Isabel Adomakoh Young. * ''Lionboy'' (Puffin, 2003) * ''Lionboy: The Chase'' (Puffin, 2003) * ''Lionboy: The Truth'' (Puffin, 2005) * ''Lee Raven, Boy Thief'' (Puffin, 2007) * ''Halo'' (Puffin, 2009) * "The Intrepid Dumpling's Dugong Story", in ''The Just When Stories'' (Beautiful Books, 2010)

Non-fiction

* ''A Great Task of Happiness: The Life of Kathleen Scott'' (Macmillan, 1995); reissued by The Hydraulic Press, Lulu, 2012 * ''The Book of the Heart'' (Flamingo, 2002) * ''You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol'' (Borough Press, April 2018)

Radio

* ''Ruby Baby'' radio drama, BBC Radio 7, 2010 * ''She Wiped the Surface and Put the kettle On'',

BBC Radio 4 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 Broadcasti ...

, read by Emma Fielding, 2012

References

External links

* Young, Louisa
"Alone with the Man in Black"
''The Guardian'', 17 September 2003 * Young, Louisa
"We are all the New JK Rowling now"
''The Guardian'', 4 August 2003 * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Louisa 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Daughters of barons English children's writers English women novelists Living people Pseudonymous women writers Novelists from London Year of birth missing (living people)