Melissa Harrison
{{Short description|English novelist, short story and nature writer}}
{{use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{use British English|date=June 2020}}
Melissa Harrison (born 1975) is an English novelist, short story and nature writer.{{cite web|url=http://www.rcwlitagency.com/authors/harrison-melissa/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907035426/http://www.rcwlitagency.com/authors/harrison-melissa/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2017|title=Melissa Harrison|work=Rogers, Coleridge and White Ltd|access-date=26 May 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/profile/melissa-harrison|title=Melissa Harrison|website=The Bookseller|access-date=9 August 2020}}
Early
Harrison was born in Effingham Junction, Surrey in 1975. She attended a comprehensive school before studying English Literature at the University of Oxford, graduating in 1996.{{cite news |last=House |first=Christian |date=20 January 2013 |title=Melissa Harrison: A walk on the wild side |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/melissa-harrison-a-walk-on-the-wild-side-8458663.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/features/melissa-harrison-a-walk-on-the-wild-side-8458663.html |archive-date=12 May 2022 |work=The Independent}} After graduating, she worked as a freelance magazine subeditor, while contributing a regular "Nature Notes" column in The Times,{{cite news|last=Kappala-Ramsamy|first=Gemma|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jan/26/debut-author-melissa-harrison-interview|title=Debut author: Melissa Harrison|work=The Guardian|date=23 January 2013}} columns for The Guardian and contributions to radio and television.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/melissa-harrison|title=Columns by Melissa Harrison|work=The Guardian|accessdate=18 June 2020}}
Literary career
Her first novel, Clay, was published by Bloomsbury in January 2013, followed by At Hawthorn Time in 2015.{{cite news|last=House|first=Christian|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/11573346/At-Hawthorn-Time-by-Melissa-Harrison.html|title=At Hawthorn Time by Melissa Harrison|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=8 May 2015}}{{subscription required}} Her non-fiction books include Rain: Four Walks in English Weather (2016).{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomsbury.com/author/melissa-harrison|title=Author: Melissa Harrison|work=Bloomsbury|accessdate=18 June 2020}} A third novel, All Among the Barley, was published in August 2018.{{cite web|url=http://thenestcollective.co.uk/artist/melissa-harrison/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907034020/http://thenestcollective.co.uk/artist/melissa-harrison/|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 September 2017|title=Melissa Harrison|publisher=The Nest Collective|accessdate=6 September 2017}} Her short story "The Black Dog" was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in March 2017{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08h0g4k|title=The Black Dog|work=BBC Radio 4|date=10 March 2017}} and she has contributed episodes to the channel's Tweet of the Day programme.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b095qmbn|title=Tweet of the Day - Melissa Harrison on the Tawny Owl|work=BBC Radio 4|date=1 May 2019}} She has also made appearances on the BBC Two series Springwatch.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03ydd46|title=Springwatch|website=BBC Programmes|date=15 June 2016}} During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, she began a nature diary podcast called The Stubborn Light of Things which formed the basis of a new memoir published in November 2020 that outlined her move from urban London to rural Suffolk.{{cite web|url=https://melissaharrison.co.uk/books/|title=The Stubborn Light of Things|website=Melissa Harrison website|access-date=9 August 2020}} Her first children's novel, By Ash, Oak and Thorn was published by Chicken House Books in May 2021.{{cite web |last1=Sanders |first1=Patrick |title=By Ash, Oak and Thorn |url=https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/childrens-book-reviews/by-ash-oak-and-thorn/ |website=The School Reading List |date=March 2021 |access-date=5 March 2021}}
Awards
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Year !Title !Award !Category !Result !{{Abbr|Ref|Reference}} |
| 2015
| rowspan="2" |At Hawthorn Time |{{Sho}} | |
|---|
| rowspan="2" |2016
|Bailey Women's Prize for Fiction |— |{{Nominated|Longlisted}} | |
| Rain
|— |{{Nominated|Longlisted}} | |
| 2019
|All Among the Barley |European Union Prize for Literature |— |{{Won}} |
| rowspan="3" |2021
|By Ash, Oak and Thorn |Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards |Children's |{{Sho}} |
| rowspan="2" |The Stubborn Light of Things
|East Anglian Book Awards |Book of the Year |{{Won}} | |
| Independent Booksellers' Book Prize
|— |{{Sho}} | |
| 2022
|By Rowan and Yew |— |{{Sho}} | |
Bibliography
{{Incomplete list|date=June 2024}}
= Novels =
- Clay (2013)
- At Hawthorn Time (2015
- All Among the Barley (2018)
= Children's =
- By Ash, Oak and Thorn (2021)
- By Rowan and Yew (2022)
= Nature writing =
- Rain: Four Walks in English Weather (2016)
- The Stubborn Light of Things: A Nature Diary (2020)
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7761991.Melissa_Harrison Melissa Harrison] on Goodreads
- [https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/p06jmy4r Richard Powers and nature writing] Open Book, Alex Clark interviews Richard Powers, Melissa Harrison and Jessica J Lee 12:00-27min, BBC Radio 4 podcast, 28 August 2018, accessed 2 September 2018.
- [https://melissaharrison.co.uk/ Melissa Harrison – Novelist and Nature Writer] Melissa's personal website with links to her books, podcast and other work.
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Category:21st-century English short story writers
Category:21st-century English women writers
Category:21st-century English writers
Category:English women short story writers