Chris Cleave

{{Short description|British writer and journalist}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Chris Cleave

| image = Chris Cleave.jpg

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| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|14 May 1973|df=yes}}

| birth_place = London, England

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| occupation = Writer

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| language = English

| period =

| subject = Literary fiction

| alma_mater = Balliol College, Oxford

| spouse =

| influences =

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| notableworks = Incendiary
The Other Hand

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}}

Chris Cleave (born 1973) is a British writer and journalist.

Biography

Cleave was born in London on 14 May{{Cite web|url=http://olympicringsandotherthings.blogspot.com/2012/10/before-london-olympics-i-did-not-know.html|title = Olympic Rings and Other Things: Conversation with Chris Cleave RE: "Gold"|date = 29 October 2012}} 1973, brought up in Cameroon and Buckinghamshire, and educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied experimental psychology.{{cite web |title=Interview: Chris Cleave |url=https://www.3ammagazine.com/litarchives/2005/sep/interview_chris_cleave.shtml |website=3ammagazine |access-date=14 January 2023}} He lives in the UK with his French wife and three children.

Writing

Cleave's debut novel Incendiary was published in twenty countries and has been adapted into a feature film starring Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor. The novel won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The audiobook version was read by Australian actor Susan Lyons.

His second novel, The Other Hand, was released in August 2008 and was described as "A powerful piece of art... shocking, exciting and deeply affecting... superb"{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-other-hand-by-chris-cleave-904889.html | title=Strangers and Sisters as Nigeria Meets Surrey | accessdate=2008-12-06 | author=Urquhart, James | work=The Independent | location=London | date=2008-08-22}} by The Independent. It has been shortlisted for the 2008 Costa Book Awards in the Novel category.{{cite web|url=http://www.costabookawards.co.uk/awards/thisyearshortlist2008.aspx |title=Costa Book Awards Shortlist 2008 |accessdate=2008-12-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101003133038/http://www.costabookawards.co.uk/awards/thisyearshortlist2008.aspx |archivedate=October 3, 2010 }} Cleave was inspired to write The Other Hand from his childhood in West Africa. It was released in the US and Canada in January 2009 under the title Little Bee.{{Cite web |title=Borders Books: Corporate Media Heroin in Las Vegas, Part Two, PopMatters |url=http://www.popmatters.com/post/121530-borders-books-coporate-media-heroin-in-las-vegas-part-two/}}

Gold, his third novel, was called "bold and brave" by The Observer.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/03/gold-chris-cleave-review-olympics|title=Gold by Chris Cleave – review|last=Preston|first=Alex|date=2012-06-02|work=The Observer|access-date=2019-06-25|language=en-GB|issn=0029-7712}}

Cleave is a columnist for The Guardian in London. From 2008 until 2010 he wrote a column for The Guardian entitled "Down with the kids".{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/chris-cleave | title=Chris Cleave Columns at The Guardian Newspaper | accessdate=2008-12-06 | location=London | date=2008-11-27}}

Bibliography

= Novels =

= Short stories =

  • "Quiet Time"(Big Issue Australia, 2006)
  • "Fresh Water"Sea Stories (anthology) (National Maritime Museum, 2007)
  • "Oyster"3:AM London, New York, Paris (anthology) (Social Disease, 2008)

References