Susanna Jones (born 1967) is a British writer. Her

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 ...

, '' The Earthquake Bird'' won the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kin ...

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 ( ...

and the Crime Writers' Association John Creasy Dagger.

Biography

Born in

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

, Jones spent her childhood in

Hornsea Hornsea is a seaside town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The settlement dates to at least the early medieval period. The town was expanded in the Victorian era with the coming of the Hull and Hornsea Railway in 186 ...

in the

East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...

.Biography - Susanna Jones
Retrieved 2016-04-10. Her father was a University Professor and her mother a teacher then School Inspector.Earthquake Bird’ celebrates with Japan edition
''

Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', 29 December 2001 Japan. She studied drama at

Royal Holloway University Royal Holloway, University of London (RH), formally incorporated as Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, is a public research university and a member institution of the federal University of London. It has six schools, 21 academic departmen ...

in London where she became interested in Japanese culture through her study of

Noh theatre is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. It is Japan's oldest major theater art that is still regularly performed today. Noh is often based on tales from traditional literature featuri ...

. After graduating in 1988Ms Susanna Jones - Research - Royal Holloway, University of London
Retrieved 2016-04-10. she then travelled to Japan where she taught English in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

on the

JET Programme The , shortly as , is a teaching program sponsored by the Japanese government that brings university graduates to Japan as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs), Sports Education Advisors (SEAs) or as Coordinators for International Relations (CI ...

, spent two years in Turkey then returned to Japan in 1994 where she lived and worked in Chiba. Later moving to

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

where she worked as a radio script editor. and presenter for

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

Radio. Whilst in Tokyo she started writing her first novel, which was set in the city. In 1996 she studied for an MA in Novel Writing at the

University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...

and taught Fiction Writing at the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

from 2003 to 2005. She now lives near Brighton and lectures in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway.

Bibliography

*'' The Earthquake Bird'' (2001) *''Water Lily'' (2003) *''The Missing Person's Guide to Love'' (2007) *''When Nights Were Cold'' (2012)

References

External links

*
An interview with author Susanna Jones , Pencils and What-notSusanna Jones speaks to Matt Thorne
(YouTube)
On the Edge: Susanna Jones’ novel ''When Nights Were Cold'' follows heroine Grace from Dulwich to disaster on a mountain. She tells author Sarah Hall about it
1967 births Living people British women writers Writers from Kingston upon Hull People from Hornsea Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London Alumni of the University of Manchester Academics of Royal Holloway, University of London Academics of the University of Exeter People from Brighton and Hove {{UK-writer-stub