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Kate Atkinson (born 20 December 1951) is an English writer of novels, plays and short stories. She is known for creating the Jackson Brodie series of detective novels, which has been adapted into the
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
series ''
Case Histories ''Case Histories'' (2004) is a detective novel by British author Kate Atkinson and is set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. The plot revolves around three seemingly unc ...
''. She won the
Whitbread Book of the Year 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, then ...
prize in 1995 in the Novels category for ''
Behind the Scenes at the Museum ''Behind the Scenes at the Museum'' is British novelist Kate Atkinson's debut novel, published in 1995. The book covers the experiences of Ruby Lennox, a girl from a working-class English family living in York. The museum of the title is York ...
'', winning again in 2013 and 2015 under its new name the
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, then ...
.


Early life

The daughter of a shopkeeper, Atkinson was born in
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
, the setting for several of her books. She studied
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...
at the
University of Dundee The University of Dundee; . Abbreviated as ''Dund.'' for post-nominals. is a public university, public research university based in Dundee, Scotland. It was founded as a University college#United Kingdom, university college in 1881 with a donation ...
, gaining her master's degree in 1974. Atkinson subsequently studied for a doctorate in
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 inc ...
, with a thesis titled "The post-modern American short story in its historical context". She failed at the
viva Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...
(oral examination) stage. After leaving the university, she took on a variety of jobs, from home help to legal secretary and teacher.


Writing career

Her first novel, ''Behind the Scenes at the Museum'', won the 1995 Whitbread Book of the Year and went on to be a ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' bestseller. Since then, she has published further novels, as well as plays and short stories. Some of her books are part of a series of novels, starting with ''Case Histories'', which feature the character of Jackson Brodie as a private investigator and former police inspector. Atkinson has criticised the media's coverage of her work when she won the
Whitbread award 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, then ...
, for example, it was the fact that she was a "single mother" who lived outside London that received the most attention. In a 2018 interview she declared that she did not spend time in great literary parties or the London high life. In 2009, she donated the short story "Lucky We Live Now" to
Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
's
Ox-Tales Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best-known authors. All donated their stories to Oxfam. The books and stories are loosely based on the four elements: Earth, Fire, Air and Water. The Ox-Tales books we ...
project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Atkinson's story was published in the ''Earth'' collection. In March 2010, Atkinson appeared at the York Literature Festival, giving a world-premier reading from an early chapter from her novel '' Started Early, Took My Dog'' (2010), which is set mainly in the English city of
Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
. Atkinson was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the 2011 Birthday Honours for services to literature. On 30 November 2018, she was the guest on
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
's ''
Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
''.


Bibliography


Novels

*''
Behind the Scenes at the Museum ''Behind the Scenes at the Museum'' is British novelist Kate Atkinson's debut novel, published in 1995. The book covers the experiences of Ruby Lennox, a girl from a working-class English family living in York. The museum of the title is York ...
'' (1995) winner of the 1995 Whitbread first novel and Book of the Year Prize *''
Human Croquet ''Human Croquet'' is the second novel of Kate Atkinson. The book covers the experiences of Isobel Fairfax, including her occasional bouts of time-travelling, while setting out the legacy of a 300-year-old family curse. Reception In a review o ...
'' (1997) *''
Emotionally Weird ''Emotionally Weird'' is the third novel by Kate Atkinson. It was published in 2000. Plot introduction The novel begins with chapter one of a murder mystery set in a seaside resort. This tale is later revealed as being written by Euphemia (Ef ...
'' (2000) *'' Life After Life'' (2013)winner of the 2013 Costa novel award *'' A God in Ruins'' (2015)winner of the 2015 Costa novel award *''
Transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
'' (2018) * '' Shrines of Gaiety'' (2022) *''The Line of Sight'' (TBC)


Novels featuring Jackson Brodie

*''
Case Histories ''Case Histories'' (2004) is a detective novel by British author Kate Atkinson and is set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. The plot revolves around three seemingly unc ...
'' (2004) *'' One Good Turn'' (2006) *'' When Will There Be Good News?'' (2008) *'' Started Early, Took My Dog'' (2010) *'' Big Sky'' (2019)


Plays

*''Nice'' (1996) *'' Abandonment'' (2000)


Story collections

*'' Not the End of the World'' (2002)


Television adaptations

The first four Jackson Brodie novels have been adapted by other writers for the
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. ...
...
under the series titled ''
Case Histories ''Case Histories'' (2004) is a detective novel by British author Kate Atkinson and is set in Cambridge, England. It introduces Jackson Brodie, a former police inspector and now private investigator. The plot revolves around three seemingly unc ...
'', featuring
Jason Isaacs Jason Isaacs (born 6 June 1963) is an English actor. Isaac's film roles include Col. Tavington in '' The Patriot'' (2000), Michael D. Steele in '' Black Hawk Down'' (2001), Lucius Malfoy in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2002–2011), C ...
as Brodie. In 2015 in the United States,
Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...
was in the process of developing a pilot called ''
The Catch The Catch may refer to: Film and television * ''The Catch'' (U.S. TV series), 2016-2017 American mystery television series * ''The Catch'' (UK TV series), 2023 British family drama television series * ''The Catch'' (1961 film), 1961 film by Nagisa ...
'', based on a treatment written by Atkinson, and starring
Mireille Enos Mireille Enos (; born September 22, 1975) is an American actress. Drawn to acting from a young age, she graduated in performing arts from Brigham Young University, where she was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. Having made her acting ...
. Her 2013 novel ''Life After Life'' was screened as a BBC drama of the same name in 2022, with
Thomasin McKenzie Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (born 26 July 2000) is a New Zealand actress. After a minor role in '' The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies'' (2014), she rose to critical prominence after playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's d ...
in the role of Ursula.


Awards and honours

* 1995 Whitbread Awards (Book of the Year), ''
Behind the Scenes at the Museum ''Behind the Scenes at the Museum'' is British novelist Kate Atkinson's debut novel, published in 1995. The book covers the experiences of Ruby Lennox, a girl from a working-class English family living in York. The museum of the title is York ...
'' *2009 Crime Thriller Award for The CWA Gold Dagger: ''When Will There Be Good News?'' (nominated) *2009
British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by '' The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Nationa ...
, Richard and Judy Bookclub Winner, ''When Will There Be Good News?'' * 2013 Costa Book Awards (Novel category), '' Life After Life'' *2014
Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter Sc ...
shortlist for ''Life After Life'' *2014
South Bank Sky Arts Award The South Bank Sky Arts Awards (originally The South Bank Show Awards) are an accolade recognizing British achievements in the arts. The awards have been given annually since 1997. They originated with the long-running British arts programme ' ...
for ''Life after Life'' * 2015 Costa Book Awards (Novel category), ''A God in Ruins''


Personal life

Atkinson has been married twice: while a student, to the father of her first daughter Eve, and subsequently to the father of her second daughter Helen. Atkinson lived in
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...
, North Yorkshire, for a time, but now lives in
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
.


See also

*
List of British playwrights This is a list of United Kingdom, British playwrights. 17th-century British playwrights 18th-century British playwrights 19th-century British playwrights 20th-century British playwrights See also the more extensive list at British pl ...
*
List of English novelists This is a list of novelists from England writing for adults and young adults. Please add only one novel title or comment on fiction per name. Other genres appear in other lists and on subject's page. References appear on the individual pages. ...
* List of female detective/mystery writers *
List of people from Edinburgh This list contains famous or notable people who were either born, residents, or otherwise closely associated with the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. The entries in each section are listed alphabetically. Architecture Arts Authors Medicine, s ...
* List of people from York *
List of short story authors This is a partial list of published short-story authors: A–B C–D E–F G–H I–J K–L M–N O–R S–T U–Z References {{reflist Short-story authors ...


References


External links

* *
''One Good Turn'' Reviews
at
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
* *
Kate Atkinson
talking about ''One Good Turn'' a
MeetTheAuthor.co.uk

John Mullan talks to Kate Atkinson
about ''Behind the Scenes at the Museum'' 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 ...
'' Book Club podcast {{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Kate 1951 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Alumni of the University of Dundee British Book Award winners English crime fiction writers English short story writers English women dramatists and playwrights English women novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Members of the Order of the British Empire Writers from Edinburgh People from York British women short story writers Women mystery writers 20th-century British short story writers 21st-century British short story writers