Stef Penney (born 1969 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish filmmaker and novelist. She grew up in the Scottish capital and turned to film-making after a degree in Philosophy and Theology from

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. She made three short films before studying Film and TV at

Bournemouth College of Art Arts University Bournemouth (abbreviated AUB) is a further and higher education university based in Poole, England, specialising in art, performance, design, and media. It was formerly known as The Arts University College at Bournemouth and T ...

, and on graduation was selected for the

Carlton Television Carlton Television (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties from 9.25am every Monday to 5.15pm every Friday. The company is now managed with London Weekend Televi ...

New Writers Scheme. She has also written and directed two short films; a BBC 10 x 10 starring

Anna Friel Anna Louise Friel (born 12 July 1976) is an English actress. Born in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, she has been acting professionally since age 13. Friel achieved fame with her portrayal of Beth Jordache on the British soap opera ''Brookside'' ( ...

and a Film Council Digital Short in 2002 starring Lucy Russell. She won the

2006 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 ...

and The Book-of-the-Month Club First Fiction Award with her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

'' The Tenderness of Wolves,'' which is set in Canada in the 1860s. The novel starts with the discovery of the murder of a trapper, and then follows various events that occur as the murderer is sought. As Stef Penney suffered from

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

at the time of writing this novel, she did all the research in the

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

of London and never visited Canada. She has subsequently written ''The Invisible Ones'' (2011) and ''Under A Pole Star'' (2016); the latter was shortlisted for the 2017 Costa Book Awards. She has adapted three

Modesty Blaise ''Modesty Blaise'' is a British comic strip featuring a fictional character of the same name, created by author Peter O'Donnell and illustrator Jim Holdaway in 1963. The strip follows Modesty Blaise, an exceptional young woman with many talent ...

novels for BBC Radio.

References

External links

* 1969 births Living people 21st-century Scottish novelists Costa Book Award winners Alumni of Arts University Bournemouth Women mystery writers 21st-century Scottish women writers {{UK-novelist-stub