Lucy Mangan (born 1974) is a British journalist and author. She is a columnist, features writer and TV critic 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 ...

'' and an opinion writer for '' i'' news.

Early life and education

Mangan was born in 1974 and grew up in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...

, southeast London, to parents originally from

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

. Her father worked in theatre, and her mother was a doctor. She studied English at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

, qualified as a

solicitor A solicitor is a lawyer who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and enabled to p ...

, but worked in a bookshop until she found a work experience placement at ''The Guardian'' in 2003.Feminist education has been the making of me
Interview with ''The Daily Telegraph'', 6 May 2013

Career

Journalism

Mangan writes a regular column, TV reviews, and occasional features at ''The Guardian'' and is an opinion writer for '' i'' news. A major part of her writing is related to feminism. Mangan also has a regular column for '' Stylist'' magazine.

Books

Mangan's book ''My Family and other Disasters'' (2009) is a collection of her newspaper columns. She has also written books about her childhood and her wedding.Biography at Blake Freidman
Agent's page, accessed March 2016 Her debut novel, ''Are We Having Fun Yet?'', was published in 2021. ''The Scotsman'''s Kirsty McLuckie gave the novel a glowing review, describing the book as "a work of genius".

Other activities

Mangan has been a judge for the BookTrust Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

Recognition and awards

Mangan won the columnist of the year award at the Professional Publishers Association Awards in 2013, and was shortlisted for the critic of the year award at The British Press Awards in 2019.

Personal life

Mangan and her husband have a son.

Works

* ''My Family and other Disasters'', Hachette (2010) * ''The Reluctant Bride: One Woman's Journey (Kicking and Screaming) Down the Aisle'', Guardian Books (2012) * ''Hopscotch & Handbags: The Truth about Being a Girl'', Headline (2013) * '' Inside Charlie's Chocolate Factory'', Puffin UK/US (2014) * ''Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading'', Square Peg (2018) * ''Are We Having Fun Yet?,'' Souvenir, (2021)

References

External links

''The Guardian'' profile page

''Stylist'' column listing
1974 births Living people Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge People from Catford English women non-fiction writers English women journalists English television critics Writers from the London Borough of Lewisham The Guardian journalists {{England-writer-stub