Louisa Young is a British novelist, songwriter, short-story writer, biographer and journalist, whose work has appeared in 32 languages. By 2023 she had published seven novels under her own name and five with her daughter, the actor Isabel Adomakoh Young, under the pen name Zizou Corder. Her eleventh novel, ''Devotion'', appeared in June 2016. She has also written three non-fiction books, ''The Book of the Heart'' (Flamingo, 2000) and ''A Great Task of Happiness'' ( Macmillan, 1995; Lulu, 2012). Her memoir, ''You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol'' (Borough Press, 2018), is an account of her relationship with the composer Robert Lockhart and of his alcoholism. Her most recent novel, ''Twelve Months and a Day'', was published in June 2022 (Borough Press) in the UK, and in the US in January 2023 (Putnam). She is currently working on a Musical Theatre adaptation.

Prizes

Young's work has been nominated and shortlisted for prizes that include the Orange Prize for Fiction, the Costa Book of the Year, the Costa Novel of the Year, the Galaxy Audiobook of the Year Prize, which it won, the

Booktrust Teenage Prize The Booktrust Teenage Prize was an annual award given to young adult literature published in the UK. The prize was administered by Book Trust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading. The Booktrust Teenage Prize was last awarded in ...

, the Carnegie Medal, the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...

, 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 ...

and the

Folio Prize The Rathbones Folio Prize, previously known as the Folio Prize and The Literature Prize, is a literary award that was sponsored by the London-based publisher The Folio Society for its first two years, 2014–2015. Starting in 2017 the sponsor is ...

. It has been chosen by the

Richard and Judy Book Club ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

Early life

Louisa Young was born in London, England, her father being the politician and writer

Wayland Young Wayland Hilton Young, 2nd Baron Kennet (2 August 1923 – 7 May 2009) was a British writer and politician, notably concerned with planning and conservation. As a Labour minister, he was responsible for setting up the Department of the Environmen ...

(Lord Kennet), and her mother Elizabeth Young, Lady Kennet. She has five siblings, including the sculptor

Emily Young Emily Young FRBS (born 1951) is a sculptor, who has been called "Britain's greatest living stone sculptor". She was born in London into a family of artists, writers and politicians. She currently divides her time between studios in London and It ...

. Young was educated at

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Padd ...

's Hallfield Primary School,

St Paul's Girls' School St Paul's Girls' School is an independent day school for girls, aged 11 to 18, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England. History St Paul's Girls' School was founded by the Worshipful Company of Mercers in 1904, using part o ...

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where she read history.

Career

Young worked as a sub-editor, then as a freelance columnist and feature writer on national publications, including the '' Guardian'', the '' Sunday Times'', the ''Daily Express'', '' Marie Claire'', ''Tatler'', '' Bike Magazine'' and ''Motorcycle International''. She also worked at various stages as a despatch rider, a busker (double bass and vocals), a waitress, a kitchen-hand and a shop assistant. Her first book, ''A Great Task of Happiness'', was a biography of her grandmother

Kathleen Scott Edith Agnes Kathleen Young, Baroness Kennet, FRBS (née Bruce; formerly Scott; 27 March 1878 – 25 July 1947) was a British sculptor. Trained in London and Paris, Scott was a prolific sculptor, notably of portrait heads and busts and als ...

, widow of Captain Scott of the Antarctic, published by Macmillan in 1995. Then came three novels set in London and Egypt: ''Baby Love'', ''Desiring Cairo'' and ''Tree of Pearls'' (Flamingo). ''Baby Love'' was listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction. These were followed in 2002 by ''The Book of the Heart'', a cultural history of the heart as it is seen through art, religion, love and anatomy. In 2007 she was a curatorial advisor for the

Wellcome Foundation The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of one of the predecessors of Glax ...

exhibition ''The Heart'', which was inspired by her book. She co-authored five books for children with her daughter: ''

Lionboy ''Lionboy'' is a children's and young adult's fantasy trilogy written by Zizou Corder (the shared pen-name of English novelist Louisa Young and her daughter Isabel Adomakoh Young). The series The book series is about a young boy named Charli ...

'', ''Lionboy: The Chase'', ''Lionboy: The Truth'', ''Lee Raven, Boy Thief'', and ''Halo''. The Lionboy trilogy was translated into 36 languages. ''Halo'' was shortlisted for the

in 2010, and nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 2011. The film rights to ''Lionboy'' have been sold three times, including twice to Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks. A stage production by Théâtre de Complicité was directed by Annabel Arden, adapted by Marcelo dos Santos with Arden, Young and the company, and starred Adetomiwa Edun. It opened in 2013 at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a f ...

and toured the UK to favourable reviews. It was reprised at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as ...

, London, the

New Victory Theatre The New Victory Theater is a theater at 209 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, near Times Square. Built in 1900 as the Republic Theatre (also Theatre Republic), it was designed by Albert Westover a ...

, New York, and in Hong Kong and South Korea in 2014/2015. In 2011, she published ''My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You'', a First World War novel shortlisted for the Costa Novel of the Year Award and the

, which won the Galaxy Audiobook of the Year Award 2012, read by actor Dan Stevens and with music by Robert Lockhart. It was chosen for the

Richard & Judy Book Club ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

in 2012; nominated for the

2013, and was BBC

Radio Four BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

's ''

Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, ...

'' in January 2012, read by Olivia Colman. It was the London Cityread choice for 2014 and has been sold in 15 languages. ''The Heroes' Welcome'', a sequel, was published in the UK in 2014 and nominated for the

that year. ''Devotion'', the third book in the series, was published in June 2016. She has contributed to various anthologies, including ''I Am Heathcliff'' (ed. Kate Mosse), ''Underground; Tales for London'' (ed. Ann Bissell) and ''A Love Letter to Europe'' (Coronet). Young's memoir ''You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol'' (Borough Press, 2018), covers her relationship with Robert Lockhart and difficult issues of addiction, talent, love and death. Her novel "Twelve Months and a Day" was published in the Uk by Borough Press in June 2022, and by Putnam in the US in January 2023, when it was People Magazine's Book of the Week Young's music project "Birds of Britain" is a collaboration with multi-instrumentalist, arranger and producer Alex Mackenzie. The debut album ''You Left Early'' (June 2018) is a collection of songs written by Young about the death of her fiancé.

Works

;Fiction *Egypt trilogy **''Baby Love'' (London: Flamingo, 1997; Borough Press, 2015) **''Desiring Cairo'' (Flamingo, 1999; Borough Press, 2015) **''Tree of Pearls'' (Flamingo, 2000, Borough Press, 2015) *''My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You'' (HarperCollins, March 2011; Paperback: January 2012; US 2011) *''The Heroes' Welcome'' (Borough Press, May 2014) *''Devotion'' (Borough Press, June 2016) *''Twelve Months and a Day'' (Borough Press, June 2022; Putnam 2023) ;Non-fiction *''A Great Task of Happiness: The Life of Kathleen Scott'' (Macmillan, 1995); reissued by The Hydraulic Press, Lulu, 2012 *''The Book of the Heart'' (Flamingo, 2002) *''You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol'' (Borough Press, April 2018) ;Radio *''Ruby Baby'' radio drama,

BBC Radio 7 BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British Digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio broadcasting, radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a ...

, 2010 *''She wiped the surface and put the kettle on'',

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

, read by Emma Fielding, 2012 ;By Zizou Corder Zizou Corder is the joint pseudonym of mother-and-daughter co-authors Louisa and Isabel Adomakoh Young. *''Lionboy'' (Puffin, 2003) *''Lionboy: The Chase'' (Puffin, 2003) *''Lionboy: The Truth'' (Puffin, 2005) *''Lee Raven, Boy Thief'' (Puffin, 2007) *''Halo'' (Puffin, 2009) *"The Intrepid Dumpling's Dugong Story", in ''The Just When Stories'' (Beautiful Books, 2010)

References

External links

*Young, Louisa
"Alone with the Man in Black"
''The Guardian'', 17 September 2003 *Young, Louisa
"We are all the New JK Rowling now"
''The Guardian'', 4 August 2003 * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Young, Louisa 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers 21st-century pseudonymous writers Daughters of barons English children's writers English women novelists Living people Pseudonymous women writers Writers from London Year of birth missing (living people)