Julian Barnes facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Julian Barnes
Barnes in 2019
Born	(1946-01-19) 19 January 1946 (age 79) Leicester, England
Pen name	Dan Kavanagh (crime fiction), Edward Pygge
Occupation	Writer
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Genre	Novels, short stories, essays, memoirs
Literary movement	Postmodernism
Notable awards	Prix Femina 1992 Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 2004 Man Booker Prize 2011 Jerusalem Prize 2021
Spouse	Pat Kavanagh ​ ​ (m. 1979; died 2008)​

Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is a famous English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 for his book The Sense of an Ending. He was also nominated for this award three times before.

Julian Barnes has written many different types of books. These include novels, short stories, and essays. He has also written crime stories under the pen name Dan Kavanagh. In 2004, he received a special French award called Commandeur of L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. He also won the Jerusalem Prize in 2021.

Early Life and Education

Julian Barnes was born in Leicester, England, on January 19, 1946. His family moved to the London area when he was very young. Both of his parents were teachers of French.

When he was 10, his mother told him he had "too much imagination." This might have been a hint about his future as a writer! In 1956, his family moved to Northwood. He went to the City of London School from 1957 to 1964.

After school, he studied modern languages at Magdalen College, Oxford. He then worked for three years helping to create the Oxford English Dictionary. Later, he became a reviewer and editor for magazines like the New Statesman. From 1979 to 1986, he was a television critic.

Becoming a Writer

Julian Barnes published his first novel, Metroland, in 1980. This book is about a young man from London who travels to Paris, France. It explores ideas about dreams and loyalty in relationships.

His second novel, Before She Met Me (1982), was a darker story. It was about a historian who becomes very jealous.

Breakthrough Novels

Barnes's book Flaubert's Parrot (1984) was a big success. It tells the story of an older doctor who is very interested in the life of the writer Gustave Flaubert. This book was nominated for the Booker Prize and helped Barnes become a well-known writer.

In 1986, he published Staring at the Sun. This novel follows a woman growing up in England after the war. It looks at themes of love and truth.

A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (1989) was a unique book. It used different writing styles to question what we think we know about human history.

Writing as Dan Kavanagh

During the 1980s, Julian Barnes wrote four crime novels. He used the pen name "Dan Kavanagh." These books were about a detective named Duffy. Barnes said using a different name made it easier to write these kinds of stories. He wrote these books very quickly, sometimes in less than two weeks!

Later Works and Success

In the 1990s, Barnes continued to write many novels and articles. Talking It Over (1991) was about a love triangle, where three characters share their thoughts with the reader. He wrote a sequel to this book in 2000 called Love, etc.

His novel England, England (1998) is a funny story. It's about a businessman who creates a theme park that looks like famous places in England. Barnes loves France, and his book Cross Channel (1996) is a collection of stories about Britain's connection to France.

In 2005, Arthur & George became very popular. This book tells a fictional story based on a real crime investigated by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was the first of his novels to appear on The New York Times bestsellers list.

Winning the Man Booker Prize

Julian Barnes's 11th novel, The Sense of an Ending, came out in 2011. In October of that year, it won the prestigious Man Booker Prize. The judges said it was a "beautifully written book" that spoke to people in the 21st Century. This book also won the Europese Literatuurprijs.

In 2013, Barnes published Levels of Life. Part of this book talks about the history of hot air balloons. Another part is a short story. The third part is a touching essay about his grief after his wife passed away. He wrote about how important she was to his life.

In 2025, Barnes published a collection of essays called Changing My Mind. In these essays, he explores how our minds change our identity. He also writes about memory, suggesting that memory can change over time and even create things that never happened.

Personal Life

Julian Barnes's brother, Jonathan Barnes, is a philosopher. Julian Barnes supports human rights organizations like Freedom from Torture. He also supports Dignity in Dying, a group that campaigns for assisted dying. He has lived in Tufnell Park, north London, since 1983.

Barnes married Pat Kavanagh, who was a literary agent, in 1979. She sadly passed away in 2008. Barnes wrote about his feelings of loss in his book Levels of Life.

Awards and Recognitions

Julian Barnes has received many awards for his writing:

• 1981: Somerset Maugham Award for Metroland
• 1985: Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize
• 1992: Prix Femina Étranger for Talking It Over
• 2004: Austrian State Prize for European Literature
• 2004: Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France)
• 2011: David Cohen Prize for Literature
• 2011: Man Booker Prize for The Sense of an Ending
• 2012: Europese Literatuurprijs
• 2021: Jerusalem Prize

List of Works

Novels

• Metroland (1980)
• Before She Met Me (1982)
• Flaubert's Parrot (1984)
• Staring at the Sun (1986)
• A History of the World in 10½ Chapters (1989)
• Talking It Over (1991)
• The Porcupine (1992)
• England, England (1998)
• Love, etc (2000)
• Arthur & George (2005)
• The Sense of an Ending (2011)
• The Noise of Time (2016)
• The Only Story (2018)
• Elizabeth Finch (2022)

Collections

• Cross Channel (1996)
• The Lemon Table (2004)
• Pulse (2011)

Non-fiction

• Letters from London (1995)
• Something to Declare (2002)
• The Pedant in the Kitchen (2003)
• Nothing to Be Frightened Of (2008)
• Through the Window (2012)
• A Life with Books (2012)
• Levels of Life (2013)
• Keeping an Eye Open: Essays on Art (2015)
• The Man in the Red Coat (2019)
• Changing My Mind (2025)

Works as Dan Kavanagh

Novels

• Duffy (1980)
• Fiddle City (1981)
• Putting the Boot In (1985)
• Going to the Dogs (1987)

Short story

• "The 50p Santa. A Duffy Detective Story" (1985)

As translator

• Alphonse Daudet: In the Land of Pain (2002)
• Volker Kriegel: The Truth About Dogs (1988)

See also

In Spanish: Julian Barnes para niños