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Sir

Alan Hollinghurst
Alan Hollinghurst at the 2011 Texas Book Festival
Alan Hollinghurst at the 2011 Texas Book Festival
Born Alan James Hollinghurst
(1954-05-26) 26 May 1954 (age 71)
Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom
Occupation Writer, translator
Alma mater Magdalen College, Oxford
(BA, MLitt)
Period 1975–
Genre Novel, poem, short story
Notable works The Swimming-Pool Library
The Folding Star
The Spell
The Line of Beauty
The Stranger's Child
The Sparsholt Affair
Our Evenings
Notable awards Newdigate Prize
1974
Stonewall Book Award
1989
Somerset Maugham Award
1989
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
1994
Booker Prize
2004

Sir Alan James Hollinghurst (born 26 May 1954) is a famous English writer. He writes novels, poems, and short stories. He also works as a translator, changing books from one language to another.

Alan Hollinghurst has won several important awards for his writing. These include the Somerset Maugham Award in 1989 and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1994. In 2004, he won the very prestigious Booker Prize for his novel The Line of Beauty.

Early Life and Education

Alan Hollinghurst was born in Stroud, a town in Gloucestershire, England. He was the only child of James and Elizabeth Hollinghurst. His father worked as a bank manager.

He went to Canford School in Dorset. After that, he studied English at Magdalen College, Oxford. He earned his first degree in 1975 and a master's degree in 1979. While at Oxford, he won the Newdigate Prize for poetry. This is a special award for student poets.

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Alan Hollinghurst taught at several colleges in Oxford and at University College London. In 1982, he started working for The Times Literary Supplement, which is a well-known literary newspaper. He became the deputy editor there from 1985 to 1990.

Writing Career

Alan Hollinghurst is known for his detailed and beautiful writing style. Many people consider him one of the best writers of our time.

His novel The Line of Beauty won the Booker Prize in 2004. This award is one of the most important in the English-speaking world for novels. His next novel, The Stranger's Child, was also considered for the Booker Prize in 2011.

Critics have praised his writing. The Guardian newspaper called him "one of the great writers of our time." The Sunday Times said that his sentences are crafted so well, he has "no obvious living equal" in English writing.

Personal Life

Alan Hollinghurst lives in London. He has shared that writing takes a lot of focus for him. He often needs to work alone for long periods to create his stories.

Awards and Honours

  • 1974: Newdigate Prize
  • 1989: Somerset Maugham Award, for The Swimming-Pool Library
  • 1989: Stonewall Book Award, for The Swimming-Pool Library
  • 1994: James Tait Black Memorial Prize, for The Folding Star
  • 2004: Booker Prize, for The Line of Beauty
  • 2011: Booker Prize, longlist for The Stranger's Child
  • 2011: Bill Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement from Publishing Triangle

List of Works

Poetry

  • Isherwood is at Santa Monica (Sycamore Broadsheet 22: two poems, hand-printed on a single folded sheet), Oxford: Sycamore Press 1975
  • Poetry Introduction 4 (ten poems), Faber and Faber, 1978 ISBN: 9780571111435
  • Confidential Chats with Boys, Oxford: Sycamore Press 1982
  • "Mud" (London Review of Books, Vol. 4, No. 19, 21 October 1982)

Short Stories

  • A Thieving Boy (Firebird 2: Writing Today, Penguin, 1983)
  • Sharps and Flats (Granta 43, 1993)
  • Highlights (Granta 100, 2007)

Novels

  • The Swimming-Pool Library, 1988 ISBN: 9780679722564
  • The Folding Star, 1994 ISBN: 9780099476917
  • The Spell, 1998 ISBN: 9780099276944
  • The Line of Beauty, 2004 ISBN: 9780330483216
  • The Stranger's Child, 2011 ISBN: 9780330483278
  • The Sparsholt Affair, 2017 ISBN: 9781447208228
  • Our Evenings, 2024 ISBN: 9781447208235

Translations

  • Bajazet by Jean Racine, Chatto & Windus, 1991 ISBN: 9780701138530
  • Bérénice and Bajazet by Jean Racine, Faber and Faber, 2012 ISBN: 9780571299089

As Editor

Foreword

See Also

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