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Pigeon English
''Pigeon English'' is the debut novel by English author Stephen Kelman. It is told from the point of view of Harrison Opoku, an eleven-year-old Ghanaian immigrant living on a tough London estate. It was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize in 2011. Plot The novel begins with the death of a young boy on the fictional Dell Farm estate in an unspecified area of London. Harrison Opoku or 'Harri', is a recent Ghanaian immigrant living with his mother and older sister, Lydia. His father, younger sister and grandparents still live in Ghana, though they hope to move in the future. He becomes an amateur detective and tries to solve the murder of a boy who was murdered outside of a fast food restaurant. His experiences also illustrate the problems of gang warfare, immigration to the United Kingdom and poverty. As well as investigating the murder with his best friend Dean, Harrison shares with the reader his thoughts, impressions and experiences of growing up in an environment beset with ...
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Stephen Kelman
Stephen Kelman (born 1976) is an English novelist, who grew up on Marsh Farm council estate in Luton. He studied marketing at the University of Bedfordshire,"Author fulfils destiny with Booker prize nomination acclaim"
''Luton & Dunstable Express'', August 14, 2011.
then worked variously as a warehouse operative, as a caseworker, and in marketing and local government administration.


Writings

Kelman took up writing seriously in 2005, as he had wanted to do from a young age. He has completed several feature screenplays since. ''Pigeon English'', Kelman's debut novel, was inspired by the murder of

Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The winner of the Booker Prize receives international publicity which usually leads to a sales boost. When the prize was created, only novels written by Commonwealth, Irish, and South African (and later Zimbabwean) citizens were eligible to receive the prize; in 2014 it was widened to any English-language novel—a change that proved controversial. A five-person panel constituted by authors, librarians, literary agents, publishers, and booksellers is appointed by the Booker Prize Foundation each year to choose the winning book. A high-profile literary award in British culture, the Booker Prize is greeted with anticipation and fanfare. Literary critics have noted that it is a mark of distinction for authors to be selected for inclusion i ...
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English Novels
English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national identity, an identity and common culture ** English language in England, a variant of the English language spoken in England * English languages (other) * English studies, the study of English language and literature * ''English'', an Amish term for non-Amish, regardless of ethnicity Individuals * English (surname), a list of notable people with the surname ''English'' * People with the given name ** English McConnell (1882–1928), Irish footballer ** English Fisher (1928–2011), American boxing coach ** English Gardner (b. 1992), American track and field sprinter Places United States * English, Indiana, a town * English, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * English, Brazoria County, Texas, an unincorporated community * Engli ...
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2011 British Novels
Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'', a 2004 children's novel in The Winnie Years by Lauren Myracle *''Eleven'', a 2008 children's novel by Patricia Reilly Giff *''Eleven'', a short story by Sandra Cisneros Music *Eleven (band), an American rock band * Eleven: A Music Company, an Australian record label *Up to eleven, an idiom from popular culture, coined in the movie ''This Is Spinal Tap'' Albums * ''11'' (The Smithereens album), 1989 * ''11'' (Ua album), 1996 * ''11'' (Bryan Adams album), 2008 * ''11'' (Sault album), 2022 * ''Eleven'' (Harry Connick, Jr. album), 1992 * ''Eleven'' (22-Pistepirkko album), 1998 * ''Eleven'' (Sugarcult album), 1999 * ''Eleven'' (B'z album), 2000 * ''Eleven'' (Reamonn ...
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Gbolahan Obisesan
Gbolahan Obisesan is a British Nigerian writer and director. He is the Artistic Director at Brixton House theatre. He has served as a Genesis Fellow and Associate Director at the Young Vic. Early life Obisesan was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK when he was 9 years old. He grew up in Bermondsey and New Cross. He attended Southwark College, where he earned a BTech in Communication in 2000. He completed his Bachelor's degree at London Guildhall University and was involved with the National Youth Theatre. Career Obisesan has served as a writer, actor and director. He won the Jerwood Directors Award from the Young Vic for Sus in 2010. In 2011 Obisesan's play ''Mad About the Boy'' won the Fringe First for best play. It was published by Nick Hern Books. He directed four plays for ''epic 66 books'' at the Bush Theatre. It went on to tour the Unicorn Theatre, Royal Court Theatre and Bush Theatre. He was the only British writer for Rufus Norris's Feast at the Royal Court Theatre i ...
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National Literacy Trust
The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity (registered no. 1116260 in England and Wales and registered no. SCO42944 in Scotland) based in London, England, that promotes literacy. It was founded by Sir Simon Hornby, former chairman of the major national retail chain, WHSmith PLC. Its current Chief Executive is Jonathan Douglas. The charity campaigns to make literacy a priority for politicians and parents, supports children and families to improve their literacy skills and conducts research on issues relating to literacy. It also works with teachers, literacy professionals and librarians, and establishes literacy projects in disadvantaged communities across the UK. Since 1993, the National Literacy Trust has raised over £10million from the business sector to support its work, and has directly worked with 2 million children. The National Literacy Trust is based in Vauxhall in the London Borough of Lambeth. History of the National Literacy Trust The idea for a charity spe ...
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Galaxy National Book Award
The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National Book Awards from 2010 to 2014. Book award history The British Book Awards, or Nibbies, ran from 1990 to 2009 and were founded by the editor of ''Publishing News''. The award was then acquired by Agile Marketing which renamed it the National Book Awards with headline sponsors Galaxy National Book Awards (2010–2011) (sponsored by Galaxy) and Specsavers National Book Awards (2012–2014) (sponsored by Specsavers). There were no National Book Awards after 2014. In 2017 the award was acquired by ''The Bookseller'' and renamed to the original British Book Awards or Nibbies. In 2005, ''The Bookseller'' launched a separate scheme, The Bookseller Retail Awards (winners not listed in this article). In 2010, running parallel to the National Bo ...
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Desmond Elliott Prize
The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receives . The prize is named in honour of the distinguished late publisher and literary agent, Desmond Elliott Desmond Elliott (24 December 1930 – 12 August 2003) was a British publisher and literary agent. He started his career with the publishing house Macmillan before going on to found his own publishing company Arlington Books. In a career spanning .... History and administration The Desmond Elliott Prize was inaugurated at the bequest of Desmond Elliott, who died in August 2003. He stipulated that his literary estate should be invested in a charitable trust that would fund a literary award "to enrich the careers of new writers". The prize is therefore dedicated to supporting and celebrating aspiring authors and their fiction. Th ...
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Guardian First Book Award
The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspaper had sponsored from 1965. The Guardian First Book Award was discontinued in 2016, with the 2015 awards being the last. History The newspaper determined to change its book award after 1998, and during that year also hired Claire Armitstead as literary editor. At the inaugural First Book Award ceremony in 1999, she said that she was informed of the change, details to be arranged, by the head of the marketing department during her second week on the job. "By the time we left the room we had decided on two key things. We would make it a first book award, and we would involve reading groups in the judging process. This was going to be the people's prize." About the opening of the prize to nonfiction she had said in August, "readers do not seg ...
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BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online news coverage. The service maintains 50 foreign news bureaus with more than 250 correspondents around the world. Deborah Turness has been the CEO of news and current affairs since September 2022. In 2019, it was reported in an Ofcom report that the BBC spent £136m on news during the period April 2018 to March 2019. BBC News' domestic, global and online news divisions are housed within the largest live newsroom in Europe, in Broadcasting House in central London. Parliamentary coverage is produced and broadcast from studios in London. Through BBC English Regions, the BBC also has regional centres across England and national news c ...
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Immigration To The United Kingdom
Since 1945, immigration to the United Kingdom, controlled by British immigration law and to an extent by British nationality law, has been significant, in particular from the Republic of Ireland and from the former British Empire, especially India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Hong Kong. Since the accession of the UK to the European Communities in the 1970s and the creation of the EU in the early 1990s, immigrants relocated from member states of the European Union, exercising one of the European Union's Four Freedoms. In 2021, since Brexit came into effect, previous EU citizenship's right to newly move to and reside in the UK on a permanent basis does not apply anymore. A smaller number have come as asylum seekers (not included in the definition of immigration) seeking protection as refugees under the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. About 70% of the population increase between the 2001 and 2011 censuses was due to ...
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United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ...
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