Evelyn Rose Strange "Evie" Wyld (born 16 June 1980) is an Anglo-Australian author. Her first novel, ''

After the Fire, A Still Small Voice ''After the Fire, A Still Small Voice'' is the debut novel by author Evie Wyld published in August 2009 by Jonathan Cape in the UK and Pantheon Books in the US. It won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and a Betty Trask Award. and was also shortlis ...

'', 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 ...

in 2009, and her second novel, '' All the Birds, Singing'', won the

Encore Award The £10,000 Encore Award for the best second novel was first awarded in 1990. It is sponsored by Lucy Astor. The award fills a niche in the catalogue of literary prizes by celebrating the achievement of outstanding second novels, often neglecte ...

in 2013 and the Miles Franklin Award in 2014. Her third novel, '' The Bass Rock'', won the Stella Prize in 2021.

Early life and education

Born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1980, Evie Wyld grew up on her grandparents'

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...

farm in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, although she spent most of her adult life in Peckham, south London. In ''

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 ...

'' she recounts how as a child she suffered from

viral encephalitis Viral encephalitis is inflammation of the brain parenchyma, called encephalitis, by a virus. The different forms of viral encephalitis are called viral encephalitides. It is the most common type of encephalitis and often occurs with viral meningiti ...

. She obtained a BA from

Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The insti ...

and an MA from

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...

, both in Creative Writing.

Literary career

Wyld is the author of the

and Betty Trask Award-winning novel ''

'' and '' All the Birds, Singing''. In 2010 she was listed by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' as one of the 20 best British authors under the age of 40. In 2011 she was listed by the BBC's ''

Culture Show Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tylo ...

'' as one of the 12 Best New British Writers. In 2013 she was included on the once a decade ''

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 ...

'' Best of Young British Novelists List. Her novels have been shortlisted for the Costa Novel Prize, The Miles Franklin Award, the

Commonwealth Writers Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

, the

Orange Award for New Writers The Orange Award for New Writers was a prize given by telecommunications company Orange between 2006 and 2010. It was launched to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Orange Prize for Fiction. The award was supported by Arts Council England ...

, the

International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, The Sky Arts Breakthrough Award, the

James Tait Black Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Uni ...

and The Author's Club Prize, and longlisted for the Stella Prize and the

Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

. She took over from

Nii Parkes Nii Ayikwei Parkes (; born 1 April 1974), born in the United Kingdom to parents from Ghana, where he was raised, is a performance poet, writer, publisher and sociocultural commentator. He is one of 39 writers aged under 40 from sub-Saharan Africa ...

as Booktrust's online "Writer in Residence" in 2010, before passing the baton on to

Polly Dunbar Polly Dunbar (born 1977) is an English author-illustrator. She is best known for her self-illustrated books ''Penguin'', the ''Tilly and Friends'' series (which became a BBC children's television series) and ''Hello, Mum'' – an illustrated me ...

. Her second novel, '' All the Birds, Singing'', was published in February 2013 and concerns an Australian sheep farmer working on an English hill farm. The book won the 2014 Miles Franklin Award in June 2014. Her third novel, '' The Bass Rock'', was published by Jonathan Cape on March 26, 2020. Set in Scotland, it explores the lives of three women living in different centuries and the ways their lives are impacted by masculinity and male violence.

Personal life

Wyld currently lives in Brixton and works at an independent bookshop in Peckham. She married literary agent Jamie Coleman in July 2013.

Awards and honours

*2013 ''

'' list of 20 best young writers *2013

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, the ...

(Novel) shortlisted for ''All the Birds, Singing'' *2013

winner for ''All the Birds, Singing'' *2014 Miles Franklin Award winner for ''All the Birds, Singing'' *2014

European Union Prize for Literature The European Union Prize for Literature (EUPL), established in 2009, is a European Union literary award. Its aim is to recognise outstanding new literary talents from all over Europe, to promote the circulation and translation of literature among ...

, UK, ''All the Birds, Singing'' *2018 elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in its "40 Under 40" initiative *2021

Christina Stead Prize for Fiction The New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, also known as the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, were first awarded in 1979. They are among the richest literary awards in Australia. Notable prizes include the Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, t ...

shortlisted for ''The Bass Rock'' *2021 Stella Prize winner for ''The Bass Rock'' *2022

Barbara Jefferis Award The Barbara Jefferis Award is an Australian literary award prize. The award was created in 2007 after being endowed by John Hinde upon his death to commemorate his late wife, author Barbara Jefferis. It is funded by his $1 million bequest. Origi ...

shortlisted for ''The Bass Rock''

Bibliography

Short stories

*"What will happen to the dog after we are dead?" (published in ''Goldfish: An Anthology of Writing from Goldsmiths'') *"The Convalescent's Handbook"
online
) first published in ''Sea Stories'', an anthology from the

National Maritime Museum The National Maritime Museum (NMM) is a maritime museum in Greenwich, London. It is part of Royal Museums Greenwich, a network of museums in the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. Like other publicly funded national museums in the Unite ...

*"The Building Opposite" (appeared in 3:AM Magazine anthology ''London, New York, Paris'') *"The Whales"
online
from Booktrust *"Menzies Meat"
online
*"Free Swim"
online
) *"Six Degrees of Separation"
online
)

Novels

*''

'' (2009), winner of the

and a Betty Trask Award.The Betty Trask Prize and Awards
/ref> *'' All The Birds, Singing'' (2013) *'' The Bass Rock'' (2020)

References

External links

Official siteTwitter siteInterview: Evie Wyld : Working WritersSavidge Reads Grills… Evie Wyld11 May 2008, Interviews, Evie Wyld
from

Interview
on YouTube about short story writing {{DEFAULTSORT:Wyld, Evie 1980 births Living people English women novelists Writers from London Alumni of Bath Spa University Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winners Miles Franklin Award winners English short story writers British women short story writers 21st-century British novelists 21st-century English women writers English people of Australian descent People from Brixton 21st-century British short story writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Australian expatriates in England