James Scudamore (born 19 May 1976) is a British author.

Books

Scudamore's first novel ''The Amnesia Clinic'' won the 2007

Somerset Maugham Award The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awa ...

and was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel 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 Glen Dimplex Award and the

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published w ...

."The Amnesia Clinic"
at James Scudamore website. It was described by

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...

as "A wonderful debut – witty, polished, fluent and effortlessly entertaining" and by the judges of the Costa Award as a "delightful book ... full of tall tales and fantasy". His second novel, '' Heliopolis'', was published in 2009. Writing 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 ...

'',

Henry Shukman Henry Shukman (born 1962 in Oxford, Oxfordshire) is an English poet and writer. He was educated at the Dragon School, Oxford. His father was the historian Harold Shukman and his brother is the BBC News reporter David Shukman. He is of Jewish an ...

commented that "In his second novel, set in contemporary

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

, Scudamore does not embed a transplant from his own culture in foreign soil. Instead he takes the plunge and boldly invests himself in a first-person narrator. The novel is cleverly pitched to explore the two socioeconomic poles of modern urban Brazil. And the writing is exemplary: you feel the hand of a natural at work, one whose command of tone is strong, and who has an instinctive feel for handling a story." The novel was longlisted for the 2009

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. ...

. Following the publication in 2013 of his third novel, ''Wreaking'',"Wreaking"
at James Scudamore website. the BBC

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

programme interviewed Scudamore inside the grounds of the derelict

Severalls Hospital Severalls Hospital was a psychiatric hospital in Colchester, Essex, England. It was managed by the North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. History Early history The hospital was designed by Frank Whitmore, the county architect, ...

in Colchester, where he explained how visits to such sites, rendered defunct by the

Care in the Community Care in the Community (also called "Community Care" or "Domiciliary Care") is a British policy of deinstitutionalisation, treating and caring for physically and mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution. Institutional ca ...

Act, had directly inspired the book. The novelist

Alan Warner Alan Warner (born 1964) is a Scottish novelist who grew up in Connel, near Oban. His notable novels include '' Morvern Callar'' and ''The Sopranos'' – the latter being the inspiration for the play '' Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour'' and its ...

described ''Wreaking'' as "an immersion in the physical and psychic ruins of a contemporary Britain which enchants and disturbs, lures and repels". ''English Monsters'' is Scudamore's fourth novel and was published in 2020. It depicts the effects of physical and sexual abuse at a boarding prep school on a group of friends over a thirty-year period.

Edward Docx Edward Docx (born 1972) is a British writer. His first novel, '' The Calligrapher'', was published in 2003. He is an associate editor of '' New Statesman Magazine''. Biography Docx was born in Newcastle. He was educated at St Bede's College ...

wrote of this "dark, tender, troubling novel" that "it is impossible to read these pages and not to think of the present blight of emotionally cauterised boarding-school politicians whose various pathologies, fantasies and defence mechanisms Britain must continue to endure."

Biography

Scudamore grew up in Japan, Brazil and the UK, and is a graduate of

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

and of the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

. He is married to Rose Grimond, the granddaughter of the Liberal politician

Jo Grimond Joseph Grimond, Baron Grimond, (; 29 July 1913 – 24 October 1993), known as Jo Grimond, was a British politician, leader of the Liberal Party for eleven years from 1956 to 1967 and again briefly on an interim basis in 1976. Grimond was a lo ...

. He has taught at the

, the

City University of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong (CityU) is a world-class public research university located in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1984 as City Polytechnic of Hong Kong and became a fully accredited university in 1994. Currently, CityU is ...

, and is on the faculty of the International MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Translation at

Vermont College of Fine Arts Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) is a private graduate-level art school in Montpelier, Vermont. It offers Master's degrees in low-residency and residential programs. Its faculty includes Pulitzer Prize finalists, National Book Award winners, ...

."James Scudamore , Faculty, International MFA"
Vermont College of Fine Arts.

External links

Author website

Today programme audio slideshow

Author interview on Man Booker website

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scudamore, James 1976 births Living people Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia British writers