Rosa Rankin-Gee (born 1986) is an English writer based in Ramsgate.

Early life

Rankin-Gee was brought up in

Kensal Rise Kensal Green, also known as Kensal Rise, is an area in north-west London, and along with Kensal Town, it forms part of the northern section of North Kensington. It lies north of the canal in the London Borough of Brent, and also to the south, ...

, London. She is the daughter of the novelist Maggie Gee and the writer and broadcaster

Nicholas Rankin Nicholas Rankin (born 1950) is an English writer and broadcaster. Biography Rankin was born in Yorkshire, England, but grew up in Kenya. His father was born in Glasgow. He was educated at Shrewsbury School and Christ Church, Oxford. He has lived ...

. She studied at

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, graduating with a degree in modern languages.

Career

After leaving university, Rankin-Gee moved to

Sark Sark (Sercquiais: or , ) is an island in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, and part of the archipelago of the Channel Islands. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency, with its own set o ...

in the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...

, where she worked as a private cook. Her first

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

''The Last Kings of Sark'' won the inaugural Paris Literary Prize in 2011 and was later published by

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' (genitive virāginis) meaning "vigorous maiden" from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffi ...

. Rankin-Gee's second novel ''Dreamland'' was published in 2021. The novel is set in a future version of

Margate Margate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Thanet District of Kent, England. It is located on the north coast of Kent and covers an area of long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay, UK, Palm Bay and W ...

, taking its title from the amusement park in the town called Dreamland. A television adaptation '' The Dream Lands'' is in production by the BBC.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Kings of Sark'' (2013) * ''Dreamland'' (2021)

Picture books

* ''Serge, the Snail Without a Shell'' (2023), with Harriet Alida Lye

References

Living people 1986 births 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham English people of Scottish descent English women novelists Novelists from London People from Kensal Green Writers from the London Borough of Brent {{England-writer-stub