Andrew O'Hagan

O'Hagan was born in Glasgow City Centre in 1968,{{cite web | title=Andrew O'Hagan | website=University of Strathclyde | date=27 June 2018 | url=https://www.strath.ac.uk/alumni/connectandnetwork/wherearetheynow/andrewohagan/ | access-date=26 September 2021}}{{cite web|title= Andrew O'Hagan|publisher= British Council|first1=Eve |last1= Patten| first2= Guy |last2= Woodward|quote= [by] Dr Eve Patten, 2003 and Dr Guy Woodward, 2012 |url=https://literature.britishcouncil.org/writer/andrew-ohagan|access-date=26 September 2021}} of Irish Catholic descent, and grew up in Kilwinning, North Ayrshire. His mother was a school cleaner, his father worked as a joiner in Paisley, and he had four elder brothers. His father was a violent alcoholic, and as a boy, he would hide books from his father under his bed.

He attended St Winning's Primary then St Michael's Academy before studying at the University of Strathclyde,{{cite web| title=Humanities English|publisher=University of Strathclyde|url=https://www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/schoolofhumanities/english|access-date=2 February 2018}} the first in his family to reach tertiary education. He earned his BA (Honours) in English in 1990.

In 1991, O'Hagan joined the staff of the London Review of Books, where he worked for four years.London Review of Books, Vol. 33 No. 12, 16 June 2011, pp. 23–28.

In 1995, he published his first book, The Missing, which drew from his own childhood and explored the lives of people who have gone missing in Britain and the families left behind. The Missing was shortlisted for three literary awards: the Esquire Award, the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award, and the McVities Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year award.

In 1999, his debut novel, Our Fathers was nominated for several awards, including the Booker Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award and the International Dublin Literary Award. It won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize.

In 2003, his next novel Personality, which features a character similar to Lena Zavaroni, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. That same year, O'Hagan won the E. M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.{{cite web|title=E. M. Forster Award |publisher=Arts and Letters |url=http://www.artsandletters.org/awards2_popup.php?abbrev=Forster |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106111558/http://www.artsandletters.org/awards2_popup.php?abbrev=Forster |archive-date=6 November 2011 }}

In 2006, his third novel, Be Near Me, was published by Faber & Faber and longlisted for that year's Man Booker Prize. It went on to win the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction.{{cite web|url=http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/book-prizes-previous-winners/|title=Los Angeles Times - Festival of Books|website=Festival of Books|access-date=29 June 2016|archive-date=16 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160116081020/http://events.latimes.com/festivalofbooks/book-prizes-previous-winners/|url-status=dead}} In 2008, he edited a new selection of Robert Burns's poems for Canongate Books, published as A Night Out with Robert Burns. A copy was lodged in every secondary school in Scotland. Following on from this, he wrote and presented a three-part film on Burns for the BBC, The World According to Robert Burns, first on 5 January 2009. In January 2011, Scotland on Sunday gave away 80,000 copies of the book. Also in 2008, Faber & Faber published O'Hagan's first non-fiction collection, The Atlantic Ocean: Essays on Britain and America, which was shortlisted for the 2008 Saltire Book of the Year Award.{{cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|title=Scottish book of the year goes to Kieron Smith, Boy|work=The Guardian|date=1 December 2008|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/dec/01/james-kelman-scottish-book-of-the-year|access-date=13 November 2011|location=London}}

His 2010 novel, The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe,{{cite news| url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/lrb/articles/0,6109,116322,00.html | location=London | work=The Guardian | title=St Marilyn: the canonisation of Monroe | date=16 January 2003}} is told in the voice of a Scottish Maltese poodle ("Maf"), the name of the real dog given by Frank Sinatra to Marilyn Monroe in 1960. It was published by Faber & Faber in May 2010 and won O'Hagan a Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award.

In 2012, O'Hagan worked on a theatrical production about the crisis in British newspapers, entitled Enquirer, with the National Theatre of Scotland.{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/mar/16/scottish-national-theatre-newspaper-journalism?newsfeed=true | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Mark | last=Brown | title=Scottish National Theatre to tackle 'crisis in newspaper journalism' | date=16 March 2012}}

In March 2014, O'Hagan wrote about his experience as a ghost-writer for Julian Assange's autobiography (published by Canongate and Alfred A. Knopf). His essay, entitled "Ghosting",{{cite journal|title=Ghosting|journal=London Review of Books|date=6 March 2014|volume=36|issue=5|url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n05/andrew-ohagan/ghosting|pages=5–26 |access-date=12 April 2019|last1=O'Hagan|first1=Andrew

}} published in the London Review of Books, gained significant media attention because of his description of Assange's character and strained relationships with past and present colleagues.{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/wikileaks/10655638/Paranoid-vain-and-jealous-the-secret-life-of-WikiLeaks-founder-Julian-Assange.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Patrick | last=Sawer | title='Paranoid, vain and jealous' – the secret life of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange | date=22 February 2014}}{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-is-mad-sad-and-bad-claims-ghost-writer-andrew-ohagan-9146457.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/press/wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-is-mad-sad-and-bad-claims-ghost-writer-andrew-ohagan-9146457.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Lewis | last=Smith | title=WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is â mad, sad and badâ , claims ghostwriter Andrew Oâ Hagan | date=22 February 2014}}{{cbignore}}{{cite news|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/ghostwriter-calls-assange-mercurial-character-who-could-not-bear-his-own-secrets-114022200302_1.html|title=Ghostwriter calls Assange 'mercurial character who could not bear his own secrets'|last=ANI|date=22 February 2014|work=Business Standard}}

In 2015, O'Hagan published his fifth novel The Illuminations: A Novel, which was longlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize.{{cite web|url=http://themanbookerprize.com/books/illuminations-by-andrew-o%E2%80%99hagan|title = Books beginning with ILLUMINATIONS-BY-ANDREW-O%E2%80%99HAGAN | the Booker Prizes}}

In June 2016, the London Review of Books published a 35,612-word essay by O'Hagan, titled "The Satoshi Affair: Andrew O'Hagan on the many lives of Satoshi Nakamoto", which followed the events surrounding programmer Craig Wright's claim to be bitcoin founder, Satoshi Nakomoto. In the article, O'Hagan describes how he was approached by Wright and {{proper name|nTrust}}, a group that he was associated with, in order to cover the exposure of Craig Wright's identity as Satoshi. Though the article is inconclusive as to the true identity of Satoshi, some have taken it as evidence that Wright is a fraud.{{cite web|url=http://fusion.net/story/316272/craig-wright-bitcoin-creator-london-review-of-books/|title=There could be a lot of money in claiming to have invented Bitoin|access-date=2016-06-28}}

In October 2017, O'Hagan published The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age which includes stories about his attempt to help Julian Assange write his memoirs, the author using the identity of a deceased man to make a new life on the Internet, and expanding on Craig Wright's claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto.[https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Life-Three-Stories-Digital-ebook/dp/B06XRJTX45/ The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age by Andrew O'Hagan] Retrieved 12 October 2017

In September 2020, O'Hagan published his sixth novel, Mayflies.{{cite web |last1=Adams |first1=Tim |title=Andrew O'Hagan: 'If you are honest, you never stop being who you were' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/30/andrew-ohagan-if-you-are-honest-you-never-stop-being-who-you-were |website=The Guardian |access-date=20 October 2020 |language=en |date=30 August 2020}}

His essays, reports and stories have appeared in London Review of Books, New York Review of Books, Granta, The Guardian and The New Yorker.{{cite web|title=O'Hagan, Andrew|publisher=A. P. Watt|url=http://www.apwatt.co.uk/frame.asp?left=authors_left.asp?author_id=270&right=author_full.asp?author_id=270|access-date=13 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425161826/http://www.apwatt.co.uk/frame.asp?left=authors_left.asp%3Fauthor_id%3D270&right=author_full.asp%3Fauthor_id%3D270|archive-date=25 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

Four of O'Hagan's books have received adaptations into different media. In 1996, Channel 4 Television presented Calling Bible John: Portrait of a Serial Killer, nominated for a BAFTA award.{{cite web|title=Calling Bible John Portrait of a Serial Killer|publisher=British Film Institute|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/548804|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100123190634/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/548804|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 January 2010|access-date=13 November 2011}} In 2009, his novel Be Near Me was adapted by Ian McDiarmid for the Donmar Warehouse and the National Theatre of Scotland.

In September 2011, the National Theatre of Scotland presented The Missing as a play adapted by O'Hagan and directed by John Tiffany at Tramway, Glasgow.{{cite web|title=The Missing|publisher=National Theatre of Scotland|url=http://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/content/default.asp?page=home_TheMissing|access-date=13 November 2011}} The play received favourable reviews. The Daily Telegraph called it "a profound act of mourning and memory."{{cite news|last=Crompton|first=Sarah|title=The Missing (Tramway review)|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=19 September 2011|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/regional-shows/8774925/The-Missing-Tramway-Glasgow-review.html|access-date=13 November 2011|location=London}} The Guardian called the work "an arresting, genre-defying work – part speculative memoir, part Orwellian social reportage" that "induces the kind of shock he [the author] must have experienced..."{{cite news|last=Hickling|first=Alfred|title=The Missing – review|work=The Guardian|date=18 September 2011|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/sep/18/the-missing-theatre-review|access-date=13 November 2011|location=London}}

In December 2022 BBC One showed an adaptation of Mayflies starring Martin Compston, Tony Curran, and Ashley Jensen.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2022/mayflies-scottish-drama-casting|title= The BBC announces new Scottish drama Mayflies, starring Martin Compston, Tony Curran and Ashley Jensen|website=BBC.co.uk}}

In 2001, O'Hagan was named as a Goodwill Ambassador by the UK branch of UNICEF, and he has been involved in fundraising efforts for the organisation. He has travelled to Sudan, India, Malawi and Mozambique and has joined fellow ambassadors Ewan McGregor, Ralph Fiennes, James Nesbitt, Martin Bell and Jemima Khan in campaigning for Unicef.{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

In August 2017, O'Hagan gave a speech at The Edinburgh International Book Festival, where he declared that he had become a supporter of Scottish independence.{{cite news|title=How Andrew O'Hagan, one of Scotland's leading writers, went from No to Yes|work=The National|url=https://www.thenational.scot/news/15476265.how-andrew-ohagan-one-of-scotlands-leading-writers-went-from-no-to-yes/|date=16 August 2017|access-date=24 August 2019}}

{{as of|September 2021}}, O'Hagan has been a visiting professor of creative writing at King's College London.{{cite web | title=Home page | website= Andrew O'Hagan | url=https://andrewohagan.com/ | access-date=26 September 2021}}{{cite web |title=O'Hagan, Professor Andrew |publisher=King's College London |url=http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/english/people/staff/academic/ohagan/index.aspx |access-date=13 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111212429/http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/english/people/staff/academic/ohagan/index.aspx |archive-date=11 January 2012}}

In June 2023, The Age reported that the FBI is seeking to gather new evidence in the Julian Assange case, based on a request from the FBI to interview O'Hagan. O'Hagan refused the request, and said to the newspaper that "I would not give a witness statement against a fellow journalist being pursued for telling the truth. I would happily go to jail before agreeing in any way to support the American security establishment in this cynical effort."{{Cite web |last=Knott |first=Matthew |date=2023-05-31 |title=FBI restarts Julian Assange probe despite hopes of release |url=https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/fbi-restarts-julian-assange-probe-despite-hopes-of-release-20230531-p5dcoe.html |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=The Age |language=en}}

In June 2024, O'Hagan became an ambassador for [http://www.bookbanks.co.uk Bookbanks], a new charity that brings books to food banks in the UK. He has been involved in fundraising efforts for the charity and gave the inaugural talk for the charity's [https://www.bookbanks.co.uk/matthews-talks Matthew's Talks] series of events in food banks.

O'Hagan has a daughter, whose mother is fellow author India Knight.{{cite news |title=Andrew O'Hagan sheds light on the home front and battle lines |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/arts_ents/13200559.andrew-ohagan-sheds-light-home-front-battle-lines/ |work=The Herald |date=7 February 2015}}

O'Hagan was selected by the literary magazine Granta{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1251240|title=A 'Granta' Glimpse at Rising British Writers|website=NPR }} for inclusion in their 2003 list of the top 20 young British novelists, and his novels have been translated into 15 languages.

• 1996 – BAFTA, Calling Bible John (TV series, winner)

• Trustee of George Orwell Trust{{cite web|title=Governance|publisher=The Orwell Prize|url=http://theorwellprize.co.uk/the-orwell-prize/about-the-prize/governance|access-date=13 November 2011}}
• Patron of Scottish Book Trust
• 2008: Honorary Doctor of Letters, University of Strathclyde{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
• 2008: Joined Robert Burns Humanitarian Award judging panel{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
• 2009: Honorary lifetime member of Irvine Burns Club{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}
• 2010: Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature{{cite web|title=Royal Society of Literature All Fellows |publisher=Royal Society of Literature |url=http://www.rslit.org/content/fellows |access-date=10 August 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100305070326/http://www.rslit.org/content/fellows |archive-date=5 March 2010}}
• 2019: Named chief judge of Scottish Arts Trust Story Awards, succeeding Alexander McCall Smith in that role, on 6 December 2019{{citation needed|date=September 2021}}

• Our Fathers (1999)
• Personality (2003)
• Be Near Me (2006)
• The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe (2010)
• The Illuminations (2015)
• Mayflies (2020)
• Caledonian Road (2024)

• The Missing (1995)
• The Atlantic Ocean: Essays on Britain and America (2008)
• The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age (2017)

• Short stories: [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article5288626.ece online text]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} from Sunday Times, 7 December 2008
• As a ghostwriter: Julian Assange: The Unauthorised Autobiography, 2011
• Editing:
• New Writing 11, 2002
• The Weekenders: Adventures in Calcutta, 2004
• A Night Out with Robert Burns, 2008
• Book Reviews:
• "Racing against reality" The New York Review of Books 54/11 (28 June 2007): 4–8 [review of Don DeLillo, Falling Man]
• "Run" Publishers Weekly Fiction Reviews: Week of 16 July 2007. Review of Run by Ann Patchett.

{{cite web

|title=Fiction Review: Run

|work=Publishers Weekly

|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-06-134063-5

|access-date=13 November 2011}}

• The Satoshi Affair: Andrew O’Hagan on the many lives of Satoshi Nakamoto (2016, non-fiction){{cite journal|url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v38/n13/andrew-ohagan/the-satoshi-affair|title=The Satoshi Affair|first=Andrew O’Hagan on the many lives of Satoshi|last=Nakamoto|date=30 June 2016|issue=13|pages=7–28|journal=London Review of Books|volume=38}}
• "Ghosting" London Review of Books, 6 March 2014
• The Tower, a 60,000-word essay about the Grenfell Tower fire in The London Review of Books{{cite journal | last=O’Hagan | first=Andrew | title=The Tower | journal=London Review of Books | date=7 June 2018 | volume=40 | issue=11 | url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v40/n11/andrew-o-hagan/the-tower | access-date=26 September 2021}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050404164827/http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth115 Profile at the Contemporary Writers website, including a critical assessment]
• [http://www.lrb.co.uk/v26/n18/ohag01_.html O'Hagan at the 2004 Republican National Convention: an article printed in the LRB]
• [http://cbc.ca/writersandcompany/media/080810_ohagan.ram Andrew O'Hagan interviewed with CBC Radio One's Eleanor Wachtel]
• [http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/podcasts/video/andrew-ohagan Video: Andrew O'Hagan on writing, reading and drinking in Scotland] on [http://www.scottishbooktrust.com Scottish Book Trust]
• [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bestoffestivals/andrew-o'hagan-in-conversation/8054660 Andrew O'Hagan in conversation for Sydney Writers' Festival]

• {{official|https://andrewohagan.com/}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohagan, Andrew}}

Category:1968 births

Category:Date of birth missing (living people)

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century Scottish male writers

Category:20th-century Scottish novelists

Category:21st-century British male writers

Category:21st-century Scottish novelists

Category:Alumni of the University of Strathclyde

Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature

Category:Granta people

Category:James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients

Category:People from Kilwinning

Category:Scottish journalists

Category:Scottish literary critics

Category:Scottish magazine editors

Category:Scottish male novelists

Category:Scottish people of Irish descent

Category:Scottish Roman Catholics

Category:Writers from Glasgow