A. L. Kennedy

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A. L. Kennedy
A.L. Kennedy in 2012
A.L. Kennedy in 2012
BornAlison Louise Kennedy
(1965-10-22) 22 October 1965 (age 55)
Dundee, Scotland
OccupationWriter, academic, comedian
NationalityScottish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of Warwick
Website
www.a-l-kennedy.co.uk

Alison Louise Kennedy (born 22 October 1965) is a Scottish writer, academic and stand-up comedian. She writes novels, short stories and non-fiction and is known for her dark tone, blending of realism and fantasy, and for her serious approach to her work.[clarification needed] She contributes columns and reviews to European newspapers.[example needed]

Biography[]

Kennedy was born in Dundee to Edwardene Mildred, a teacher, and Robert Alan Kennedy, a psychology lecturer. Her parents divorced when she was 13. She attended the fee-paying High School of Dundee and went on to study for a BA Hons in Theatre Studies and Dramatic Arts at the University of Warwick.[1][2][3]

From 1980 to 1989[citation needed], Kennedy was a community arts worker for Clydebank District Council. She then went on to a role as Writer-In-Residence for Hamilton and East Kilbride Social Work Department from 1989 to 1991. From 1989 to 1995 she worked on Project Ability, a Glasgow-based visual arts organisation. In 1995 she was a part-time lecturer at the University of Copenhagen.[3][4]

In 2009, she donated the short story Vanish to Oxfam's Ox-Tales project, four collections of stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the "Air" collection.[5] In 2016, her novel Serious Sweet was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize.

In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, she signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."[6][7]

In 2020 she began contributing a column on her views of Brexit to the German daily paper Süddeutsche Zeitung.[8] [9] [10] [11]

Kennedy currently lives in Wivenhoe[12] and has been an associate professor in Creative Writing at the University of Warwick[13] since 2007, having previously taught creative writing at the University of St Andrews from 2003 to 2007. She has performed as a stand-up comedian at the Edinburgh Fringe and literary festivals. Her main comedy club has been The Stand Comedy Club in Edinburgh.[14]

Awards and honours[]

Works[]

Novels[]

  • Looking for the Possible Dance (1993) ISBN 978-0-7493-9758-6
  • So I Am Glad (1995) ISBN 978-0-09-945721-3
  • Original Bliss (1997) ISBN 978-0-09-973071-2
  • Everything You Need (1999) ISBN 978-0-09-973061-3
  • Paradise (2004) ISBN 978-0-09-943349-1
  • Day (5 April 2007) ISBN 978-0-09-949405-8
  • The Blue Book (4 August 2011) ISBN 978-0-224-09140-4
  • Doctor Who: The Drosten's Curse (14 July 2015) ISBN 978-0-553-41944-3
  • Serious Sweet (19 May 2016) ISBN 978-0-224-09844-1
  • The Little Snake (6 November 2018) ISBN 978-1786893864

Short story collections[]

  • Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains (1990) ISBN 978-0-09-945006-1
  • Now That You're Back (1994) ISBN 978-0-09-945711-4
  • Tea and Biscuits (1996) ISBN 978-1-85799-757-6
  • Indelible Acts (2002) ISBN 978-0-09-943348-4
  • What Becomes (6 August 2009) ISBN 978-0-224-07787-3
  • All the Rage (2014) ISBN 978-0544307049

Non-fiction[]

  • Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (1997) ISBN 0-85170-568-5
  • On Bullfighting (1999) ISBN 0-224-06099-6
  • On Writing (2013) ISBN 978-0-224-09697-3
  • ’’Care of the Luwak’’ (2010)

Screenwriting[]

Selected radio[]

  • Confessions of a Medium (2010), broadcast as the Saturday Play on BBC Radio 4, 13 March 2010 and 1 March 2013[25]
  • Happy Families (2011), broadcast on BBC Radio 3, 1 September 2011
  • Love Love Love Like The Beatles (2012), broadcast as the Afternoon Drama on BBC Radio 4, 26 June 2012
  • AA: America's Gift to the World (2014), broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 6 April 2015.[26]

References[]

  1. ^ Fox, Genevieve (5 August 2011). "AL Kennedy: interview". The Daily Telegraph.
  2. ^ "BBC Two – Writing Scotland – AL Kennedy". BBC. September 2004. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Who's Who 2016. London: A&C Black. 2015. p. 1266. ISBN 978-1-472-90470-6.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g International Who's Who of Women 2014 (9th ed.). Abingdon: Routledge. 2014. p. 545. ISBN 9781857436945.
  5. ^ "Telling Tales", The Spectator, 1 July 2009.
  6. ^ "Vote for hope and a decent future". The Guardian. 3 December 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  7. ^ Proctor, Kate (3 December 2019). "Coogan and Klein lead cultural figures backing Corbyn and Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2019.
  8. ^ Kennedy, A. L. (9 January 2020). "Popo, der Todesclown (Brexit-Kolumne "Affentheater")". Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  9. ^ Kennedy, A. L. (14 January 2020). "Meghan und Harry wollen arbeiten? Unmöglich! (Brexit-Serie "Affentheater")". Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  10. ^ Kennedy, A. L. (21 January 2020). "Englands größter Dildo (Kolumne "Affentheater")". Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  11. ^ Kennedy, A. L. (29 January 2020). "Was lernen wir daraus? (Brexit-Kolumne "Affentheater")". Süddeutsche Zeitung. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  12. ^ [1], 3 June 2016
  13. ^ "AL Kennedy" Archived 17 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Courses, Creative Writing, Staff, University of Warwick
  14. ^ "AL Kennedy: interview", Daily Telegraph, 5 August 2011
  15. ^ "Granta Best Young British Novelists 2003". www.theguardian.com. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  16. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Somerset Maugham past winners". www.societyofauthors.org. The Society of Authors. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  17. ^ "HISTORY | Borderline Theatre Company". www.borderlinetheatre.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  18. ^ A.L. Kennedy. "Encore". Encoreaward.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
  19. ^ "A L Kennedy wins Saltire award". HeraldScotland. Herald and Times Group. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Literatur-Staatspreis an Britin verliehen". ORF Salzburg (Austrian Broadcasting Company). 27 July 2008. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2008.
  21. ^ Brown, Mark (23 January 2008). "Perfect Day for AL Kennedy as she takes Costa book prize". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
  22. ^ "1. Internationaler Eifel-Literatur-Preis 2008 am 08.06.2008 in Bitburg". www.eifel-literatur-festival.de. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  23. ^ Alison Flood (13 June 2014). "Frank O'Connor prize shortlist pits 'masters' against first-timers". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2014.
  24. ^ Acceptance speech, 11.12.2016 in Düsseldorf
  25. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Saturday Drama, Confessions of a Medium". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  26. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – AA: America's Gift to the World". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 11 April 2015.

External links[]

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