Sarah Moss (born 1975) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

writer and academic. She has published six novels, as well as a number of

non-fiction Nonfiction, or non-fiction, is any document or media content that attempts, in good faith, to provide information (and sometimes opinions) grounded only in facts and real life, rather than in imagination. Nonfiction is often associated with b ...

works and academic texts. Her work has been nominated three times for the

Wellcome Book Prize Wellcome Book Prize (2009–2019 — paused) is an annual British literary award sponsored by Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established i ...

. She was appointed Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

's School of English, Drama and Film in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

with effect from September 2020.

Biography

Sarah Moss was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, Scotland, and at the age of two moved with her family to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where she lived until at the age of 18, when she went to study at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. During the ten years she spent in Oxford, she earned a BA, Master of Studies and D.Phil in English Literature, and then held a postdoctoral research fellowship. From 2004 to 2009 she was a lecturer at the

University of Kent , motto_lang = , mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...

. Following the publication in 2009 of her first novel, ''Cold Earth'', Moss went to teach for a year at the

University of Iceland The University of Iceland ( is, Háskóli Íslands ) is a public research university in Reykjavík, Iceland and the country's oldest and largest institution of higher education. Founded in 1911, it has grown steadily from a small civil servants' s ...

. She then took up a post as Senior Lecturer in Literature and Place at

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

Penryn Campus Penryn Campus (formerly Tremough Campus, Cornwall Campus and similar names) is a university campus in Penryn, Cornwall, England, UK. The campus is occupied by two university institutions: Falmouth University and the University of Exeter, with th ...

in Cornwall, and subsequently moved to the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

, becoming Director of the Warwick Writing Programme, teaching creative writing.

Awards

Moss's 2011 novel ''Night Waking'' won the Fiction Uncovered Prize. Her non-fiction book ''Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland'' was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature's

Ondaatje Prize The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someon ...

in 2013. In 2015 her novel ''Bodies of Light'' was shortlisted for the

, and her novels ''Signs for Lost Children'' and ''The Tidal Zone'' were also shortlisted for the same award in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Her 2018 novel ''Ghost Wall'' was shortlisted for the

and the Polari Prize, and was longlisted for the 2019

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 ...

Novels

*''Cold Earth'' (Granta, 2009) *''Night Waking'' (Granta, 2011) *''Bodies of Light'' (Granta, 2014) *''Signs for Lost Children'' (Granta, 2015) *''The Tidal Zone'' (Granta, 2016) *''Ghost Wall'' (Granta, 2018) *''Summerwater'' (Pan Macmillan, 2020) *''The Fell'' (Pan Macmillan, 2021)

Non-fiction

* ''The Frozen Ship'' (2006) * ''Scott’s Last Biscuit: the literature of polar exploration'' (2006) * ''Spilling the Beans: reading, writing, eating and cooking in British women’s fiction 1770 – 1830'' * ''Chocolate: A Global History'' (2009) * ''Names for the Sea: Strangers in Iceland'' (Granta, 2012)

References

External links

Sarah Moss
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Sarah 1975 births Living people English women novelists 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Academics of the University of Warwick Academics of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Oxford Academics of the University of Kent University of Iceland faculty Academics of the University of Exeter English academics of English literature