Richard Milward (born 26 October 1984 in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

) is an English novelist. His debut novel ''

Apples An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

'' was published by Faber in 2007. He has also written ''Ten Storey Love Song,'' ''Kimberly's Capital Punishment,'' and ''Man-Eating Typewriter''.

Early life

Raised in

Guisborough Guisborough ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland, North Yorkshire, England. It lies north of the North York Moors National Park. Roseberry Topping, midway between the town and Great Ayton, is a landmark i ...

, (

Redcar and Cleveland Redcar and Cleveland is a unitary authority area with borough status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. Its council has been a unitary authority since 1996. The borough was created in 1974 as Langbaurgh, and was one of four ...

), Milward attended Laurence Jackson School and Prior Pursglove College. He then studied fine art at

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by Byam Shaw, John Liston Bya ...

Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, a public art university in London, England. The college offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of short ...

in London.

Career

Milward cites ''

Trainspotting Trainspotting may refer to: * Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads * ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh ** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel *** ''Trainspotting'' (soundt ...

'' by

Irvine Welsh Irvine Welsh (born 27 September 1958) is a Scottish novelist and short story writer. His 1993 novel ''Trainspotting (novel), Trainspotting'' was made into a Trainspotting (film), film of the same name. He has also written plays and screenplays, ...

as the book that made him want to write and

Jack Kerouac Jean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac (; March 12, 1922 – October 21, 1969), known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation. Of French-Canadian ...

Richard Brautigan Richard Gary Brautigan (January 30, 1935) was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. He wrote throughout his life and published ten novels, two collections of short stories, and four books of poetry. Brautigan's work has been publi ...

and

Hunter S. Thompson Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author, regarded as a pioneer of New Journalism along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, and Tom Wolfe. He rose to prom ...

as influences. He joined fellow Teessider Michael Smith in writing a column for '' Dazed & Confused'' magazine.

''Apples''

Milward'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 ...

is an account of teenage life on a Middlesbrough housing estate. It is narrated in the first person by several characters (including a butterfly), but mainly by Adam and Eve, two school students. Adam is a shy, ungainly youth with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a love of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, and a violent father. He believes himself to be in love with Eve, who is an attractive and promiscuous hard drinker and drug user.

''Man-Eating Typewriter''

Milward's 2023 novel ''Man-Eating Typewriter'' is notable for its extensive use of

Polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...

, a form of slang commonly used by the gay community in England until the late 1960s. Milward's novel is about a struggling publishing house, Glass Eye Press, that has been contacted by the mysterious Raymond M. Novak. Novak announces that he will commit a major crime within the year, and will allow Glass Eye Press to publish his memoirs after the crime has been committed. Novak's memoirs are written entirely in Polari. Throughout the memoir, there are footnotes from the employees of Glass Eye Press. These are initially used to guide the reader through Novak's eccentric use of Polari but grow into a narrative told alongside Novak's memoirs. The novel earned positive reviews.

Boyd Tonkin Boyd Tonkin Hon. FRSL is an English writer, journalist and literary critic. He was the literary editor of ''The Independent'' newspaper from 1996 to 2013. A long-time proponent of foreign-language literature, he is the author of ''The 100 Best No ...

of ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' called the novel "a mind-bending performance that unspools in flavoursome Polari" In ''

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 ...

'', Neil Bartlett wrote that Milward "produced that rarest of all things on the modern fiction bookshelf: a genuinely exhilarating entertainment. The linguistic invention borders on the dazzling, the potted social history drops its names with wit and verve, and the whole thing is both laugh-out-loud funny and authentically disgusting." It was one of six novels shortlisted for the 2023

Goldsmiths Prize The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.'' It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the ...

Bibliography

Novels

*''

'' (2007) *''Ten Storey Love Song'' (2009) *''Kimberly's Capital Punishment'' (2012) *''Man-Eating Typewriter'' (2023)

References

External links

*
Faber author page''Times'' feature 'Teenage kicks', April 28, 2007''3:AM Magazine'' interview (02/2008)
1984 births 21st-century English novelists Living people Alumni of the Byam Shaw School of Art Alumni of Central Saint Martins British postmodern writers English male novelists People from Guisborough Writers from North Yorkshire 21st-century English male writers {{UK-novelist-stub