Jackie Kay facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jackie Kay CBE FRSE FRSL
Kay in 2015
Makar
In office 15 March 2016 – 14 March 2021
Preceded by	Liz Lochhead
Succeeded by	Kathleen Jamie
Personal details
Born	Jacqueline Margaret Kay (1961-11-09) 9 November 1961 (age 63) Edinburgh, Scotland
Alma mater	University of Stirling
Occupation	Professor of creative writing at Newcastle University
Known for	Poet and novelist Makar, 2016–2021
Awards	Somerset Maugham Award (1994); Guardian Fiction Prize (1998); Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year Award (2011)

Jacqueline Margaret Kay (born 9 November 1961) is a famous Scottish writer. She writes poems, plays, and novels. Some of her well-known books include Other Lovers (1993), Trumpet (1998), and Red Dust Road (2011).

Jackie Kay has won many awards for her writing. These include the Somerset Maugham Award in 1994 and the Guardian Fiction Prize in 1998. She also won the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year Award in 2011.

From 2016 to 2021, Jackie Kay held a special role. She was the Makar, which means she was the national poet for Scotland. She also served as the leader, or Chancellor, of the University of Salford from 2015 to 2022.

Early Life and Education

Jackie Kay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1961. She was adopted as a baby by Helen and John Kay. They were a white Scottish couple. Jackie grew up in Bishopbriggs, a town near Glasgow. Her adoptive parents had also adopted her brother, Maxwell, a few years earlier.

Her adoptive father worked for the Communist Party. Her adoptive mother was involved with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. As a child, Kay faced racism at school from other children and teachers.

When she was a teenager, Jackie Kay worked as a cleaner. She even cleaned for the famous writer David Cornwell for four months. She once said that cleaning was great for writers. It allowed her to listen and observe everything around her.

Jackie Kay's Writing Career

Jackie Kay first thought about becoming an actor. But then, a Scottish artist and writer named Alasdair Gray read her poetry. He told her that writing was what she should really do. She then studied English at the University of Stirling.

Her first book of poems was called The Adoption Papers. It was published in 1991. This book was partly about her own life. It won the Saltire Society Scottish First Book Award in 1992.

Kay won the 1994 Somerset Maugham Award for her book Other Lovers. She also won the Guardian Fiction Prize for her novel Trumpet. This novel was inspired by the life of an American jazz musician named Billy Tipton.

In 1997, Kay wrote a book about the blues singer Bessie Smith. This book was reissued in 2021. A shorter version of it was even read by Jackie Kay herself on BBC Radio 4.

Plays and Children's Books

Jackie Kay also writes many plays for the stage and screen. She writes books for children too. In 1988, her play Twice Over was important. It was the first play by a Black writer to be produced by Gay Sweatshop Theatre Group.

Her play The Lamplighter explores the history of the Atlantic slave trade. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 in 2007. This was part of a season marking 200 years since the Slave Trade Act 1807. The play was later published as a poem in 2008.

Red Dust Road and Other Works

In 2010, Jackie Kay published Red Dust Road. This book tells the story of her search for her biological parents. They had met when her father was a student and her mother was a nurse.

The book Red Dust Road was made into a play. It premiered in August 2019 at the Edinburgh International Festival. The National Theatre of Scotland and HOME produced it.

Currently, Jackie Kay is a Professor of Creative Writing at Newcastle University. She is also a Cultural Fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University. She lives in Manchester.

In October 2014, she was named the Chancellor of the University of Salford. She also became the university's "Writer in Residence" starting in 2015.

In March 2016, Jackie Kay was chosen as the next Scots Makar. This is the national poet of Scotland. She took over from Liz Lochhead.

She has received special honors for her contributions to literature. She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2006. In 2020, she was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). Jackie Kay was also included in the BBC's 100 Women list in 2020.

In September 2024, the National Library of Scotland bought Jackie Kay's collection of writings and papers.

Awards and Honours

Jackie Kay has received many awards and honors throughout her career:

• 1991: Eric Gregory Award
• 1992: Scottish First Book of the Year, for The Adoption Papers
• 1994: Somerset Maugham Award, for Other Lovers
• 1998: Guardian Fiction Prize, for Trumpet
• 2000: International Dublin Literary Award (shortlist), for Trumpet
• 2003: Cholmondeley Award
• 2006: MBE, for Services to Literature
• 2007: British Book Awards deciBel Writer of the Year
• 2009: Scottish Book of the Year (shortlist), for The Lamplighter
• 2011: Scottish Book of the Year (shortlist), for Fiere
• 2011: Costa Book Awards (shortlist), for Fiere
• 2011: PEN/Ackerley Prize (shortlist), for Red Dust Road
• 2011: Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year Award (Non-Fiction category), for Red Dust Road
• 2016: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
• 2016: The Scots Makar
• 2020: CBE, for Services to Literature

Selected Works

Here are some of Jackie Kay's published works:

• The adoption papers, Bloodaxe Books, 1991 (poetry)
• Other Lovers, Bloodaxe Books, 1993 (poetry)
• Trumpet (novel – 1998)
• The Frog who dreamed she was an Opera Singer, Bloomsbury Children's Books, 1998 (children's book)
• Bessie Smith (biography – 1997)
• Why Don't You Stop Talking (fiction – 2002)
• Strawgirl, Macmillan Children's, 2002 (children's book)
• Life Mask, Bloodaxe Books, 2005 (poetry)
• Wish I Was Here (fiction – 2006)
• Darling: New & Selected Poems, Bloodaxe Books, 2007 (poetry)
• The Lamplighter, Bloodaxe Books, 2008 (poetry/radio play)
• Red, Cherry Red, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2007
• Maw Broon Monologues (2009)
• Fiere, Pan Macmillan, 2011 (poetry)
• Reality, Reality, Pan Macmillan, 2012
• The Empathetic Store, Mariscat Press, 2015 (poetry)
• Bantam, Pan Macmillan, 2017 (poetry)
• May Day, Picador, 2024 (poetry)

Some of her poems are studied in the GCSE Edexcel Syllabus:

• "Brendon Gallacher"
• "Lucozade"
• "Yellow"

See also

In Spanish: Jackie Kay para niños

• Twice Through the Heart – an opera with words written by Kay.