Pippa Goldschmidt is a British fiction writer, formerly based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

, Scotland but now living in Germany.

Education

Goldschmidt has a background in science, having completed an undergraduate degree in physics with astronomy at the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

and a PhD in

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Career

After completing her education she worked as a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

Queen Mary University , mottoeng = With united powers , established = 1785 – The London Hospital Medical College1843 – St Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College1882 – Westfield College1887 – East London College/Queen Mary College , type = Public researc ...

and Imperial College in London, then joined the civil service fast stream graduate scheme, working at

British National Space Centre The British National Space Centre (BNSC) was an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, organised in 1985, that coordinated civil space activities for the United Kingdom. It was replaced on 1 April 2010 by the United Kingdom Space Age ...

and Department for Trade and Industry. During her work in government she worked on homelessness policy for the Scottish Government, as well as offshore renewable energy policy for

Marine Scotland The Marine Scotland Directorate ( gd, Cùisean Mara na h-Alba) is a directorate of the Scottish Government. Marine Scotland manages Scotland's seas and freshwater fisheries along with delivery partners NatureScot and the Scottish Environmen ...

Writing

Goldschmidt's debut novel ''Falling Sky'' was published in 2013 and a collection of short stories ''The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space'' in 2015. In 2015 she was the co-editor of ''I Am Because You Are'', a collection of short stories on the theme of relativity, published for the centenary of Einstein's theory of

general relativity General relativity, also known as the general theory of relativity and Einstein's theory of gravity, is the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1915 and is the current description of gravitation in modern physics ...

. She has also been a writer in residence for the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, the School of Physics and Astronomy at the

Wigtown Book Festival The Wigtown Book Festival is a ten-day literary festival held each autumn in Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. The festival was first held in 1999 and has grown to be the second biggest book festival in Scotland. In 2007 the Wig ...

, the German city of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and is currently writer in residence at the University of Edinburgh's science, technology and innovation studies unit. In 2008 she achieved an MLitt in Creative Writing from the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

Publications

*''The Falling Sky'' (2013) ISBN 978-1908754141 *''The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space'' (2015) *''I Am Because You Are'' (2015)

Awards and honours

*''The Falling Sky'' Shortlisted for

Dundee International Book Prize The Dundee International Book Prize was awarded from 2000 to 2016. It billed itself as the UK's premier prize for debut novelists. It included a £5,000 cash award. The annual award was for an unpublished debut novel on any theme and in any genre ...

(2012) * Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award (2012) *

Suffrage Science award The Suffrage Science award is a prize for women in science, engineering and computing founded in 2011, on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day by the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS). There are three categories of awar ...

(2016) * Longlisted for the

Edge Hill Short Story Prize The Edge Hill Short Story Prize is a short-story contest held annually by Edge Hill University. Background The concept for the prize was developed by Professor Ailsa Cox following a 2006 short-story conference at Edge Hill. Candidates must be b ...

(2016) * Longlisted for the

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

(2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldschmidt, Pippa British women short story writers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Leeds 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British poets British women poets British women novelists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the University of Glasgow 21st-century British women writers