Candice Carty-Williams facts for kids

Candice Carty-Williams was born on July 21, 1989. She is a British writer. She is most famous for her first novel, Queenie, which came out in 2019.

Candice has written for many well-known magazines and newspapers. These include The Guardian, i-D, and Vogue. In June 2020, she made history at the British Book Awards. She became the first Black woman to win the "Book of the Year" award for Queenie.

About Candice Carty-Williams

Her Early Life and Education

Candice Carty-Williams was born in London, England. She grew up in different parts of South London. Her mother has Jamaican-Indian roots. Her father came to Britain from Jamaica when he was 16. He worked as a taxi driver.

Candice has shared that her parents were not big readers. However, her dad had many records. She thinks this might be why she loves collecting books. Her grandparents were all born in Jamaica.

She once said that she never thought she could be a writer. She felt writing was not a job she could get. She studied communication and media at the University of Sussex. After finishing her degree, she decided to try working in the book publishing world.

Her Career in Publishing

Candice started with internships at different publishing companies. These experiences helped her get a job in 2014. She became a marketing assistant at 4th Estate, which is part of HarperCollins. She was promoted to marketing executive in 2015.

While working there, she noticed something important. There were not enough authors from Black, Asian, and other minority backgrounds being published. To help change this, she created a special prize. It was called the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize. This award aimed to help new writers get their stories published. It also helped them find literary agents.

In September 2016, she moved to Vintage Books. She worked as a senior marketing executive there. She also helped new writers through the Penguin Books "Write Now" program. She left Vintage in May 2019.

Her Famous Book: Queenie

In 2017, Candice's first novel, Queenie, was a big hit even before it was published. Four different publishers wanted to buy the rights to her book. Orion publishing house bought it for a large amount of money.

Queenie was published in 2019. The story is about a lively 25-year-old Jamaican-British woman named Queenie Jenkins. She is going through a tough year. The book explores her life and relationships. Some people called it "a black Bridget Jones". However, Candice explained that Queenie is different. She said the book is also political because of who Queenie is. It talks about everyday racism.

Queenie received many good reviews. People called it a "smart and funny first book." They also said it was "astutely political" and an "essential commentary on everyday racism." In August 2021, it was announced that Queenie would become a TV show. Channel 4 ordered an eight-episode drama series based on the book.

Other Writing Projects

Candice Carty-Williams has written for many different publications. These include The Guardian, i-D, Vogue, and The Sunday Times. She also wrote an essay for a book called New Daughters of Africa (2019). This book was put together by Margaret Busby. Candice remembers seeing the older version of this book, Daughters of Africa, on her godmother's bookshelf.

On January 7, 2020, Candice became a weekly books columnist for The Guardian. Her columns appeared throughout 2020. She wrote her last column on January 2, 2021. She explained that she needed more time to work on her second novel.

She also contributed a short story for Prada's holiday campaign in 2020.

In March 2020, it was announced that Candice would write a young adult novella. It is called Empress & Aniya. This book is about two teenage girls from different backgrounds. They accidentally swap bodies on their 16th birthday. The book was released on October 7, 2021.

In May 2021, the BBC asked Candice to write a musical TV drama called Champion. This show is set in London.

Candice's second novel, People Person, was published in April 2022.