Justin Hill is an English novelist.

Biography

Justin Hill was born in Freeport,

Grand Bahama Island Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

in 1971, and he grew up in Yorkshire. He was educated at the historic St Peter's School, York (where he was a classmate of Paul Thompson); and at St Cuthbert's College,

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. As a member of

St Cuthbert's Society St Cuthbert's Society, colloquially known as Cuth's, is a college of Durham University. It was founded in 1888 for students who were not attached to the existing colleges. St Cuthbert's Society is a Bailey college, based on Durham's peninsula next ...

, he studied English Language and Medieval Literature. After leaving university in 1992, he worked with the VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) for seven years in rural

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...

. He has a MA (Distinction) from Lancaster University, and was awarded a PhD by

Goldsmiths College 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 Wor ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He reviews regularly for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'' and the ''

South China Morning Post The ''South China Morning Post'' (''SCMP''), with its Sunday edition, the ''Sunday Morning Post'', is a Hong Kong-based English-language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group. Founded in 1903 by Tse Tsan-tai and Alfred Cunningham, it has remained ...

''. Between 2009 and 2015 he ran the undergraduate Creative Writing course at 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 ...

. His work has been translated into seventeen languages and banned in China.

Career

Hill's debut novel, ''The Drink and Dream Teahouse'', written when he was a student, received a record breaking advance for an unfinished novel. It won several major awards, including the

Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize The Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize is a British literary prize established in 1963 in tribute to Geoffrey Faber, founder and first Chairman of the publisher Faber & Faber. It recognises a single volume of poetry or fiction by a United Kingdom, Irish ...

and the

Betty Trask Prize The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

, as well as being a ''2001 Washington Post Book of the Year''. He has since won the

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 been shortlisted for 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 ...

. ''Shieldwall'', the first of his Conquest Series was a ''Sunday Times Book of the Year''. ''Viking Fire'', was a ''Times Book of the Year''. The British Council describes Hill as 'a novelist and travel writer with a growing international reputation, whose writing has been mostly associated with the people, culture and history of China.'. It also said that Hill 'has already shown his mastery of the historical novel. He is able to re-create ancient eras beautifully, and fully engage our sympathies for the lives and loves of his characters.' His first novel, '' The Drink and Dream Teahouse'', is a commentary on contemporary China. '' Passing Under Heaven'', reimagines the life of female poet

Yu Xuanji Yu Xuanji (, c840–c868), courtesy names Youwei () and Huilan (), was a Chinese poet and courtesan of the late Tang dynasty, from Chang'an. She was one of the most famous women poets of Tang, along with Xue Tao, her fellow courtesan. Biography ...

. '' Ciao Asmara'' recounts the history and present of

. ''Shieldwall'' is the first in the ''Conquest Trilogy'', which chronicles the events surrounding the

Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings nrf, Batâle dé Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, the Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godw ...

, in 1066. ''Viking Fire'' is the second of the ''Conquest Trilogy'' which tells the life of

Harald Hardrada Harald Sigurdsson (; – 25 September 1066), also known as Harald III of Norway and given the epithet ''Hardrada'' (; modern no, Hardråde, roughly translated as "stern counsel" or "hard ruler") in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 t ...

. In summer 2014 Hill was commissioned to write the novelisation of the movie '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon II: The Green Legend''. It was published in February 2016 by Weinstein Books.

Awards and honours

* 2001

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

Notable Book, ''The Drink and Dream Teahouse'' * 2002

Betty Trask Award The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. Each year the awards total £20,000, with one author receiving a larger prize amount, called the ...

, winner, ''The Drink and Dream Teahouse'' * 2003

Thomas Cook Travel Book Award The Thomas Cook Travel Book Award originated as an initiative of Thomas Cook AG in 1980, with the aim of encouraging and rewarding the art of literary travel writing. The awards stopped in 2005 (2004 being the last year an award was given). As of 2 ...

shortlist, ''Ciao Asmara'' * 2005

, winner, ''Passing Under Heaven'' * 2005 A Sunday Telegraph Book of the Year, ''Passing Under Heaven'' * 2005 An Independent on Sunday Book of the Year, ''Passing Under Heaven'' * 2005

shortlist, ''Passing Under Heaven'' * 2005

Xiaoxiang Friendship Award Xiaoxiang (), also transliterated ''XiaoXiang'', ''Hsiao Hsiang'', and ''Chiu Chiang'', in some older sources, refers to the "lakes and rivers" region in south-central China south of the middle-reaches of the Yangtze River and corresponding, more ...

from the Governor of

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

* 2012 ''A Sunday Times'' Book of the Year, ''Shieldwall'' * 2016 ''A Times'' Book of the Year, ''Viking Fire'' * 2021 Shortlisted, Hislibris Historical Literature Awards, Best Historical Novel translated into Spanish, ''Shieldwall'' (Muro de escudos, translated by Pedro Santamaría Ediciones Pàmies

Bibliography

*''

A Bend in the Yellow River A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

'' (1997, ) *'' The Drink and Dream Teahouse'' (2001, ) *'' Ciao Asmara'' (2002, ) *'' Passing Under Heaven'' (2004, ) *''Shieldwall'' (2011, ) *'' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny'' (2016, ) *'' Viking Fire'' (2016, )

References

External links

JustinHillAuthor.comPodcast of Justin Hill discussing “Yu Xuanji and the Tang Dynasty” at the Shanghai International Literary Festival
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Justin 1971 births Living people 21st-century English novelists Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham People educated at St Peter's School, York Writers of historical fiction set in the Middle Ages People from Freeport, Bahamas English male novelists 21st-century English male writers