William Boyd (writer) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Boyd
CBE FRSL
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Boyd in 2009
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| Born | William Andrew Murray Boyd 7 March 1952 Accra, Gold Coast |
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| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
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| Notable works |
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| Notable awards | Grand prix des lectrices de Elle |
William Andrew Murray Boyd (born on March 7, 1952) is a British writer and film director. He is famous for his novels and short stories. He also writes scripts for movies and TV shows.
Some of his well-known books include A Good Man in Africa (1981) and Any Human Heart (2002). Many of his works have won awards. Boyd has also written screenplays for films like Chaplin (1992). He directed the movie The Trench (1999) about World War I. His writing is known for being lively and covering many different topics.
Contents
About William Boyd
William Boyd was born in Accra, which was then called the Gold Coast. This country is now known as Ghana. His parents were from Scotland. His father was a doctor who specialized in tropical diseases. His mother was a teacher.
The family moved to the Gold Coast in 1950. They worked at a health clinic there. In the early 1960s, they moved to Nigeria. William Boyd spent his early childhood in Ghana and Nigeria.
Education and Early Career
When he was nine, Boyd went to school in Scotland. He later studied at the University of Nice in France. He also attended the University of Glasgow and Jesus College, Oxford.
From 1980 to 1983, Boyd taught English at St Hilda's College, Oxford. During this time, his first novel, A Good Man in Africa, was published in 1981. He also wrote as a television critic for a magazine.
Awards and Recognition
In 2005, William Boyd was honored as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This award was for his great contributions to literature. He is also a member of the Royal Society of Literature. He has received special degrees from several universities.
Personal Life
Boyd met his wife, Susan, at Glasgow University. She used to be an editor and now writes screenplays. They have homes in London and France. In France, they own a farmhouse and a vineyard.
William Boyd's Works
William Boyd is a very productive writer. He has written many novels, short stories, and screenplays.
Novels by William Boyd
In 1983, Boyd was named one of the "Best of Young British Novelists." This was a special recognition by Granta magazine.
- A Good Man in Africa (1981) is about a British diplomat in West Africa. It won the Whitbread Book Award.
- An Ice-Cream War (1982) is set during World War I in East Africa. It was nominated for the Booker Prize for Fiction.
- Brazzaville Beach (1991) follows a scientist studying chimpanzees in Africa.
- Any Human Heart (2002) is written like the journals of a fictional British writer. It won the Prix Jean Monnet de Littérature Européenne.
- Restless (2006) tells the story of a young woman who finds out her mother was a spy in World War II. This book won the Novel of the Year award at the 2006 Costa Book Awards.
- His other novels include Waiting for Sunrise (2012), Solo (2013), Sweet Caress (2015), and Trio (2020).
The James Bond Novel Solo
In 2012, it was announced that William Boyd would write a new James Bond novel. The book, called Solo, is set in 1969. It was published in September 2013. Boyd had actually included James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming, as a character in his earlier novel Any Human Heart.
Short Stories by William Boyd
Boyd has published several collections of short stories. These include On the Yankee Station (1981), The Destiny of Nathalie 'X' (1995), Fascination (2004), and The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth (2017). He believes that writing short stories helped him become a better writer.
Screenplays and Films
William Boyd has written many scripts for movies and TV shows. He also directs films.
- He wrote the screenplay for Scoop (1987).
- He adapted his own novels into screenplays for Stars and Bars (1988) and A Good Man in Africa (1994).
- He was one of the writers for the movie Chaplin (1992).
- He directed The Trench (1999), a war film.
- For television, he adapted his novels Armadillo (2001), Any Human Heart (2010), and Restless (2012).
- He also created the TV series Spy City, which aired in 2020.
Plays
Boyd has also written plays. His play Longing (2013) was based on two short stories by Anton Chekhov. Another play, The Argument, was performed in 2016.
Non-fiction Works
Protobiography (1998) is a book where Boyd writes about his own early childhood. He also published a collection of his journalism and other non-fiction writings called Bamboo in 2005.
The Nat Tate Hoax
In 1998, William Boyd published a book called Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928–1960. This book was about a supposed artist named Nat Tate. However, Nat Tate was not a real person! Boyd made him up, along with his paintings.
When the book first came out, people didn't know it was a joke. Some people believed Nat Tate was a real artist. Famous people like David Bowie and Gore Vidal read parts of the book at a launch party. Many people in the art world even claimed to remember the artist. The truth caused a big surprise when it was revealed. The name "Nat Tate" comes from the names of two famous British art galleries: the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery.
Literary Awards and Prizes
William Boyd has received many awards for his writing:
- 1981 Whitbread First Novel Award for A Good Man in Africa
- 1982 Somerset Maugham Award for A Good Man in Africa
- 1982 Mail on Sunday/John Llewellyn Rhys Prize for An Ice-Cream War
- 1983 Selected as one of the 20 "Best of Young British Novelists" by Granta magazine
- 1990 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Brazzaville Beach
- 1991 McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year for Brazzaville Beach
- 1993 The Sunday Express Book of the Year for The Blue Afternoon
- 1995 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for The Blue Afternoon
- 2003 Prix Jean Monnet de Littérature Européenne for Any Human Heart
- 2003 Grand prix des lectrices de Elle for À livre ouvert (French edition of Any Human Heart)
- 2006 Costa Book Award for Restless
See also
In Spanish: William Boyd (escritor) para niños
