Sophie Mackintosh (born 1988) is a British novelist and short story writer. Her debut novel, ''The Water Cure,'' was nominated for the

2018 Man Booker Prize The 2018 Booker Prize for Fiction was awarded at a ceremony on 16 October 2018. The Man Booker dozen of 13 books was announced on 24 July, and was narrowed down to a shortlist of six on 20 September. The longlist included ''Sabrina'' by Nick Drnaso ...

. In 2023, she was named on the ''Granta'' Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.

Biography

Mackintosh was born in

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

and grew up in

Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county in the South West Wales, south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The count ...

. When she started writing, her initial focus was on poetry. She eventually gravitated towards prose fiction, which she has combined with holding various jobs during her 20s. She is bilingual, and cites

Welsh mythology Welsh mythology (Welsh: ''Mytholeg Cymru'') consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Cel ...

and

Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...

as influences. Mackintosh enjoys running and eating.

Books

Mackintosh's first novel ''The Water Cure'' was released in May 2018. According to ''

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 ...

s review, the novel exposes the parts of real life that are usually not confronted in the world. British book editor Hermione Thompson who works for Penguin books and published the novel, wrote about the novel, “''The Water Cure'' is an astonishing novel: it unfolds seductively, like a dream (or a nightmare), yet speaks urgently to the concerns of our own world. It heralds the arrival of a radical new voice in literary fiction.” Her second novel, ''Blue Ticket'', was published in September 2020. It is set in a future where women are only allowed to become mothers through a lottery of blue and white tickets. ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' called it "gripping, ethereal." Her third novel, ''Cursed Bread'', published in March 2023, is set around the

1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning The 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning, also known in French as Le Pain Maudit, was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in Southern France. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 people interned ...

. According to ''

The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...

'', it is "shimmering fever-dream of a novel."

Awards and honours

In 2023, Mackintosh's was named on the ''Granta'' Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Water Cure'' (2018),

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited was a British book publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half-Scot half-American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''James'' the English form – which was ...

* ''Blue Ticket'' (2020), Hamish Hamilton * ''Cursed Bread'' (2023), Hamish Hamilton

Short stories

*''The Last Rite of the Body'' (2019), ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and ma ...

'' *''New Dawn Fades'' (2018), ''We Were Strangers: Short Stories Inspired by Unknown Pleasures'' (Configo Publishing) *''Revivalists'' (2018), ''

The Stinging Fly ''The Stinging Fly'' is a literary magazine published in Ireland, featuring short stories, essays, and poetry. It publishes two issues each year. In 2005, ''The Stinging Fly'' moved into book publishing with the establishment of The Stinging Fl ...

'' *''Self Improvement'' (2018), ''

The White Review ''The White Review'' is a London-based magazine on literature and the visual arts. It is published in print and online. History ''The White Review'' was founded by editors Benjamin Eastham and Jacques Testard, and released its first issue in p ...

'' *''Holiday with T'' (2017)
''Home is Elsewhere: The 2017 Berlin Writing Prize Anthology''
*''What I Am Afraid Of'' (2017), ''Five Dials'' *''Grace'' (2016), ''

'' *''The Running Ones'' (2016), ''

Stylist Stylist can refer to: Occupations * Automotive stylist or car stylist, a person involved in designing the appearance and ergonomics of automobiles * Food stylist, a person who makes food look attractive in photographs * Hair stylist, a person w ...

'' *''The Weak Spot'' (2016), ''Granta''

Critical studies and reviews of Mackintosh's work

Interviews

* "Creatives in profile: interview with Sophie Mackintosh”, ''Nothing in the Rulebook'' (October 2019)

References

External links

''Grace''
- short story published in ''The White Review''
''Self Improvement''
- short story published in ''The White Review'' *
The Running Ones
' - short story published in ''Stylist''
The Weak Spot
- short story published in ''Granta'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackintosh, Sophie Living people 1988 births 20th-century Welsh writers 20th-century Welsh women writers 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century Welsh novelists 21st-century Welsh women writers 21st-century Welsh writers British women short story writers People from Pembrokeshire Welsh short story writers Welsh women novelists Alumni of the University of Warwick