Simon Kurt Unsworth (born 1972) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

writer of

supernatural Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...

fiction. Unsworth was born in

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 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He grew up in

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...

. He was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and 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 ...

where he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

(

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

). Unsworth's first novel is called ''The Devil's Detective'' and Unsworth's most recent novel is ''The Devil's Evidence'', a horror novel set in

Hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

.‘The Devil’s Detective’, by Simon Kurt Unsworth
''Financial Times'', 20 February 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.

James Lovegrove James M. H. Lovegrove (born 1965) is a British writer of speculative fiction. Early life Lovegrove was educated at Radley College, Oxfordshire, and was one of the subjects of a 1979 BBC television series, ''Public School''. A follow-up progr ...

, in a review for the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'', called the novel "an entertaining Dantean spin on the

police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eith ...

...''The Devil's Detective'' is damned good".

Works

Books

* ''At Ease with the Dead: New Tales of the Supernatural and Macabre'', (with others) Ash-Tree Press, 2007. . * ''Creature Feature'' (with Guy N. Smith and William Meikle), Ghostwriter Publications, 2009. . * ''The Devil's Detective : A Novel''. New York : Doubleday, 2015. * ''The Devil's Evidence : A Novel''. New York : Doubleday, 2016.

Collections

* ''Lost Places''. Ash-Tree Press, 2010. * ''Quiet Houses''. Dark Continents, 2011. * ''Strange Gateways''. PS Publishing, 2014. * ''The Martledge Variations''. Black Shuck Books, 2018. * ''Uneasy Beginnings''. With Simon Kurt Unsworth. Black Shuck Books, 2020.

Awards

* 2008 -

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

nomination for best short story for "The Church on the Island"

References

External links

* 1972 births Living people Alumni of the University of Dundee English horror writers {{England-writer-stub