David Stephen Mitchell (born 12 January 1969) is an English novelist, television writer, and screenwriter. He has written nine novels, two of which, ''

number9dream ''number9dream'' is the second novel by English author David Mitchell. Set in Japan, the 2001 novel narrates 19-year-old Eiji Miyake's search for his father, whom he has never met. Told in the first person by Eiji, it is a coming of age and per ...

'' (2001) and ''

Cloud Atlas A cloud atlas is a pictorial key (or an atlas) to the nomenclature of clouds. Early cloud atlases were an important element in the training of meteorologists and in weather forecasting, and the author of a 1923 atlas stated that "increasing use ...

'' (2004), were shortlisted for the Booker Prize. He has also written articles for several newspapers, most notably for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and translated books about autism from Japanese to English.

Early life

Mitchell was born in

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Iris ...

in Lancashire (now

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...

), England, and raised in

Malvern, Worcestershire Malvern is a spa town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England. It lies at the foot of the Malvern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The centre of Malvern, Great Malvern, is a historic conservation area, which grew dr ...

. He was educated at

Hanley Castle High School Hanley Castle High School is a non-selective mixed secondary school and sixth form centre located in the village of Hanley Castle, 1.4 miles (2.2 km) from the small town of Upton-upon-Severn, Worcestershire. It was formerly known as Hanley ...

and at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

, where he obtained a degree in English and American Literature followed by an

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

Comparative Literature Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across linguistic, national, geographic, and disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role similar to that of the study ...

. Mitchell lived in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

for a year, then moved to Hiroshima, Japan, where he taught English to technical students for eight years, before returning to England, where he could live on his earnings as a writer and support his pregnant wife.

Work

Mitchell's first novel, ''

Ghostwritten ''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, B ...

'' (1999), takes place in locations ranging from

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

in Japan to

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

to pre-Millennial New York City, as nine narrators tell stories that interlock and intersect. It won the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kingdom ...

(for best work of British literature written by an author under 35) and was shortlisted for the

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 newspap ...

. His two subsequent novels, ''

'' (2001) and ''

'' (2004), were both shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. In 2003, he was selected as one of

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

's Best of Young British Novelists. In 2007, Mitchell was listed among ''Time'' magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World. In 2012, his metafictional novel ''

'' (again, with multiple narrators), was made into a feature film. One segment of ''number9dream'' was made into a BAFTA-nominated short film in 2013 starring

Martin Freeman Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won an Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Freeman's most not ...

, titled ''

The Voorman Problem ''The Voorman Problem'' is a 2011 British short film directed by Mark Gill, who also co-wrote the screenplay and edited the film with producer Baldwin Li, who also wrote the score. It is adapted from "Panopticon", a film within a story from t ...

''. In recent years he has also written opera libretti. ''Wake'', based on the 2000

Enschede fireworks disaster The Enschede fireworks disaster was a catastrophic fireworks explosion on 13 May 2000 in Enschede, the Netherlands. The explosion killed 23 people including four firefighters and injured nearly 1,000. A total of 400 homes were destroyed and 1, ...

and with music by Klaas de Vries, was performed by the Dutch Nationale Reisopera in 2010. He has also finished another opera, ''Sunken Garden'', with the Dutch composer

Michel van der Aa Michel van der Aa (; born 10 March 1970) is a Dutch composer of contemporary classical music. Early years Michel van der Aa was born 10 March 1970 in Oss. He trained as a recording engineer at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and studie ...

, which premiered in 2013 by the

English National Opera English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English ...

. Several of Mitchell's book covers were created by design duo Kai and Sunny. Mitchell has also collaborated with the duo, by contributing two short stories to their art exhibits in 2011 and 2014. Mitchell's sixth novel, ''

The Bone Clocks ''The Bone Clocks'' is a novel by British writer David Mitchell. It was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize 2014, and called one of the best novels of 2014 by Stephen King. The novel won the 2015 World Fantasy Award. The novel is divided i ...

'', was published on 2 September 2014. In an interview in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'', Mitchell said that the novel has "dollops of the fantastic in it", and is about "stuff between life and death". ''The Bone Clocks'' was longlisted for the

2014 Man Booker Prize The 2014 Man Booker Prize for fiction was awarded at a ceremony on 14 October 2014. Until 2014, only novels written in English and from authors in the Commonwealth, including the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Zimbabwe were eligible for considerat ...

. Mitchell was the second author to contribute to the

Future Library project The Future Library project ( Norwegian: ''Framtidsbiblioteket'') is a public artwork that aims to collect an original work by a popular writer every year from 2014 to 2114. The works will remain unread and unpublished until 2114. One thousand trees ...

and delivered his book ''From Me Flows What You Call Time'' on 28 May 2016. ''

Utopia Avenue ''Utopia Avenue'' is a 2020 novel by David Mitchell. It is his eighth published novel, and his first since '' Slade House'' (2015). It was published by Sceptre on 14 July 2020. The novel tells the story of the fictional 1960s British psychedeli ...

'', Mitchell's ninth novel, was published by Hodder & Stoughton on 14 July 2020. Utopia Avenue tells the “unexpurgated story” of a British band of the same name, who emerged from London's psychedelic scene in 1967 and was “fronted by folk singer Elf Holloway, guitar demigod Jasper de Zoet and blues bassist Dean Moss”, said publisher Sceptre.

Other works

Following the release of the 2012 film adaptation of ''Cloud Atlas'', Mitchell commenced work as a screenwriter alongside

Lana Wachowski Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...

(one of ''Cloud Atlas'' three directors). In 2015, Mitchell contributed plotting and scripted scenes for the second season of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

series ''

Sense8 ''Sense8'' (a play on the word '' sensate'' ) is an American science fiction drama streaming television series created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski for Netflix. The production companies behind ''Sense8'' included ...

'' by

the Wachowskis Lana Wachowski (born June 21, 1965, formerly known as Larry Wachowski) and Lilly Wachowski (born December 29, 1967, formerly known as Andy Wachowski) are American film and television directors, writers and producers. The sisters are both trans ...

, who had adapted the novel for the screen, and together with

Aleksandar Hemon Aleksandar Hemon ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Xeмoн; born September 9, 1964) is a Bosnian-American author, essayist, critic, television writer, and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels '' Nowhere Man'' (2002) and '' The Lazarus Pr ...

they wrote the series finale. Mitchell had signed a contract to write season three of the series before Netflix's cancellation of the show. In August 2019, it was announced that Mitchell would continue his collaboration with Lana Wachowski and Hemon to write the screenplay for ''

The Matrix Resurrections ''The Matrix Resurrections'' is a 2021 American science fiction action film produced, co-written, and directed by Lana Wachowski, and being the first in ''Matrix'' franchise to be directed solely by Lana, without her sister, Lilly. It is the s ...

'' with them.

Personal life

After another stint in Japan, Mitchell and his wife, Keiko Yoshida, live in

Ardfield Ardfield (), historically ''Ardofoyle'',Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a small villa ...

, County Cork, Ireland, . They have two children. In an essay for

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, Mitchell wrote:

I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was a kid, but until I came to Japan to live in 1994 I was too easily distracted to do much about it. I would probably have become a writer wherever I lived, but would I have become the same writer if I'd spent the last six years in London, or
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
, or
Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javian ...
, on an oil rig or in the circus? This is my answer to myself.

Mitchell has a

stammer Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder in which the flow of speech is disrupted by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses or blocks in which the ...

"Lost for words"
David Mitchell, ''Prospect'' magazine, 23 February 2011, Issue No. 180 and considers the film ''

The King's Speech ''The King's Speech'' is a 2010 British historical drama film directed by Tom Hooper and written by David Seidler. Colin Firth plays the future King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language ...

'' (2010) to be one of the most accurate portrayals of what it is like to be a stammerer: "I'd probably still be avoiding the subject today had I not outed myself by writing a semi-autobiographical novel, ''Black Swan Green'', narrated by a stammering 13-year-old." Mitchell is also a patron of the

British Stammering Association The British Stammering Association (BSA), trading as STAMMA since 2019, is a national membership organisation in the United Kingdom for adults and children who stammer, their friends and families, speech and language therapists and other profes ...

. Mitchell's son is autistic. In 2013 he and his wife Yoshida translated a book attributed to Naoki Higashida, a 13-year-old Japanese autistic boy, titled '' The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism''. Higashida allegedly learned to communicate using the discredited techniques of facilitated communication and rapid prompting method.} In 2017, Mitchell and his wife translated the follow-up book also attributed to Higashida, '' Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism''.

List of works

Novels *''

'' (1999) *''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2004) *''

Black Swan Green ''Black Swan Green'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by David Mitchell, published in April 2006 in the U.S. and May 2006 in the UK. The bildungsroman's thirteen chapters each represent one month—from January 1982 through January 198 ...

'' (2006) *'' The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'' (2010) *''

'' (2014) *'' Slade House'' (2015) *''

From Me Flows What You Call Time ''From me flows what you call Time'' is a 1990 concerto for five percussionists and orchestra by the Japanese composer Tōru Takemitsu. It is considered one of the best of Takemitsu's late works. Conception ''From me flows what you call Ti ...

'' (2016; publishing delayed until ) *''

'' (2020) Short stories *"The January Man", ''

'' 81: Best of Young British Novelists, Spring 2003 *"What You Do Not Know You Want", ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved to ...

Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories'', Vintage Books (Random House), 2004 *"Acknowledgments", '' Prospect'', 2005 *"Preface", ''The Daily Telegraph'', April 2006 *"Dénouement", ''The Guardian'', May 2007 *"Judith Castle", ''The New York Times'', January 2008 *"An Inside Job", Included in "Fighting Words", edited by Roddy Doyle, published by Stoney Road Press, 2009 (Limited to 150 copies) *"The Massive Rat", ''The Guardian'', August 2009 *"Character Development", ''The Guardian'', September 2009 *"Muggins Here", ''The Guardian'', August 2010 *"Earth calling Taylor", ''Financial Times'', December 2010 *"The Siphoners", Included in "I'm With the Bears: Short Stories from a Damaged Planet", 2011 *"The Gardener", in the exhibit "The Flower Show" by Kai and Sunny, 2011 (Limited to 50 copies) *"Lots of Bits of Star", in the exhibit "Caught by the Nest" by Kai and Sunny, 2013 (Limited to 50 copies) *"Variations on a Theme by Mister Donut",

127: Japan, Spring 2014 *"The Right Sort", Twitter, 2014
"A Forgettable Story", ''Cathay Pacific Discovery'', July 2017
rchivedbr>"If Wishes Was Horses", ''The New York Times Magazine'', July 2020"By Misadventure"
'' The European Review of Books'', 11 June 2021 Libretto for opera *"Wake" opera in four acts (May 2010) by

Klaas de Vries (composer) Klaas de Vries (born 15 July 1944) is a Dutch composer. De Vries taught composition at the Rotterdam Conservatory until his retirement in 2009. Biography Klaas de Vries was born on 15 July 1944 in Terneuzen, in the province of Zeeland in the N ...

electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...

by René Uijlenhoet for Nationale Reisopera *"Sunken Garden"(12 April 2013), film opera for

Barbican Theatre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhib ...

Selected articles *"Japan and my writing", Essay *"Enter the Maze", ''The Guardian'', 2004 *"Kill me or the cat gets it", ''The Guardian'', 2005 (Book review of

Kafka on the Shore is a 2002 novel by Japanese author Haruki Murakami. Its 2005 English translation was among "The 10 Best Books of 2005" from ''The New York Times'' and received the World Fantasy Award for 2006. The book tells the stories of the young Kafka Tamur ...

) *"Let me speak", British Stammering Association, 2006 *"On historical fiction", ''The Daily Telegraph'', 2010 *"Adventures in Opera", ''The Guardian'', 2010 *"Imaginary City", '' Geist'', 2010 *"Lost for words", ''Prospect'', 2011 *"Learning to live with my son's autism", ''The Guardian'', 2013 *"David Mitchell on Earthsea – a rival to Tolkien and George RR Martin", ''The Guardian'', 23 October 2015 *"

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single " Wuthering Heights", becoming the first female ...

and me: David Mitchell on being a lifelong fan of the pop poet". ''The Guardian'', 7 December 2018 Other *"The Earthgod and the Fox", 2012 (translation of a short story by Kenji Miyazawa; translation printed in McSweeney's Issue 42, 2012) *'' The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism'', 2013 (translation of Naoki Higashida's work) *" Before the Dawn", 2014 (with

co-wrote two spoken scenes during ''The Ninth Wave'' sequence in this live production). *'' Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8'', 2017 (translation of Naoki Higashida's work) *"Amor Vincit Omnia", 2018; ''

'' episode *''

'', 2021 (feature film screenplay co-written with

and

)

References

Sources

*"The world begins its turn with you, or how David Mitchell's novels think". In B. Schoene. ''The Cosmopolitan Novel''. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2009. *Dillon, S. (ed.). ''David Mitchell: Critical Essays''. Kent: Gylphi, 2011. *

External links

Official websiteDavid Mitchell's profile
at the official Booker Prize site * * *
David Mitchell - How I Write
Untitled Books, May 2010
"Get Writing: Playing With Structure" by David Mitchell
at

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...