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 us ...

'' (2004), were shortlisted for the

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. ...

. He has also written articles for several newspapers, most notably for '' The Guardian'', and translated books about

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

from Japanese to English.

Early life

Mitchell was born in Southport 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, Wirra ...

), 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 ...

. 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 American literature is literature written or produced in the United States of America and in the colonies that preceded it. The American literary tradition thus is part of the broader tradition of English-language literature, but also in ...

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. ...

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 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 in Japan to Mongolia to pre-Millennial New York City, as nine narrators tell stories that interlock and intersect. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize (for best work of British literature written by an author under 35) and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. His two subsequent novels, ''

'' (2001) and ''

'' (2004), were both shortlisted for the

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. ...

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

'', 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 ''Th ...

'', 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. 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 psychedelic ...

'', 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 (one of ''Cloud Atlas'' three directors). In 2015, Mitchell contributed plotting and scripted scenes for the second season of the Netflix 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 t ...

'' 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 P ...

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'' 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, 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, or Moose Jaw, 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'' (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 profe ...

. 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'' (2006) *''

The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet ''The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet'' is an historical fiction novel by British author David Mitchell published by Sceptre in 2010. It is set during the Dutch trading concession with Japan in the late 18th-century, during the period of Jap ...

'' (2010) *''

'' (2014) *'' Slade House'' (2015) *'' From Me Flows What You Call Time'' (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 t ...

Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories'', Vintage Books (Random House), 2004 *"Acknowledgments", ''

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

'', 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), electronics 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 exhi ...

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 ''Geist'' () is a German noun with a significant degree of importance in German philosophy. Its semantic field corresponds to English ghost, spirit, mind, intellect. Some English translators resort to using "spirit/mind" or "spirit (mind)" to h ...

'', 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 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 Kate Bush 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 *'' The Matrix Resurrections'', 2021 (feature film screenplay co-written with Lana Wachowski 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

site * * *
David Mitchell - How I Write
Untitled Books, May 2010
"Get Writing: Playing With Structure" by David Mitchell
at

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. ...

.co
"Character Development" by David Mitchell
a short story from '' The Guardian'' (2009)
"David Mitchell, the Experimentalist"
''New York Times Magazine'', June 2010
"The Floating Library: What can't the novelist David Mitchell do?"
'' The New Yorker'', 5 July 2010
"The Art of Scriptwriting: David Mitchell on Matrix 4"
, at the 21. '' international literaturefestival berlin'', 10 September 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, David 1969 births 20th-century English novelists 20th-century translators 21st-century British novelists 21st-century translators Alumni of the University of Kent Autism activists Clonakilty English expatriates in Ireland English expatriates in Italy English expatriates in Japan Japanese–English translators John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners Living people People educated at Hanley Castle High School People from Southport Postmodern writers Teachers of English as a second or foreign language World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from Worcestershire English male novelists People with speech impediment