Zoë Kate Hinde Heller (born 7 July 1965) is an English journalist and novelist long resident in New York City. She has published three novels, ''Everything You Know'' (1999), ''
Notes on a Scandal'' (2003), and ''
The Believers'' (2008). ''Notes on a Scandal'' was shortlisted for the
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
and was adapted for
a feature film in 2006.
Biography
Early life
Heller was born in
St Pancras, north
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, as the youngest of four children of Caroline (née Carter) and
Lukas Heller, a successful screenwriter; her parents separated when she was five.
Her father was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
immigrant
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...
and her mother was English and a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
. Her paternal grandfather was the political philosopher
Hermann Heller. Her brother is screenwriter
Bruno Heller. Her sister,
Lucy Heller, is Chief Executive of education charity
Ark
Ark or ARK may refer to:
Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva''
* Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood
* Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses
Hebrew ''aron''
* ...
and previously Managing Director of Times Supplements Ltd, the former educational publishing wing of
News UK.
She attended
Haverstock School
Haverstock School (formerly Haverstock Comprehensive School), is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located on Haverstock Hill in Haverstock, London, England. It is opposite Chalk Farm Underground station, and bounded by Prince of W ...
in north London where she was a contemporary of
David Miliband
David Wright Miliband (born 15 July 1965) is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the International Rescue Committee and a former British Labour Party politician. He was the Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010 and the Member of ...
and then studied
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 ...
at
St Anne's College, Oxford, gaining a first, before going on to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
where she received an
MA on Marxist theories of literature and
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Du ...
.
Career
After a period at the UK publisher
Chatto, and a spell as a freelance book reviewer, Heller was taken on as a staff feature writer for ''
The Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published ...
''.
She later returned to New York in the early 1990s contracted to write for ''
Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Literature
* Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan
* ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray
* ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...
''. Deputizing for
Nick Hornby
Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir '' Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work ...
while he was on holiday led to her reputation as a confessional writer.
She wrote for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', a weekly column for ''
The Sunday Times Magazine'' in the UK,
and was a columnist for ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was f ...
'', for which she won the
British Press Awards
The Press Awards, formerly the British Press Awards, is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism.
History
Established in 1962 by '' The People'' and '' World's Press News'', the first award ceremony for the then-named ...
' "Columnist of the Year" in 2002. She co-wrote the screenplay for the independent film, ''
Twenty-One'' (1991).
Publications
Heller has published three novels, ''Everything You Know'' (1999), ''
Notes on a Scandal'' (2003), which was one of six books shortlisted for the
Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
and was made into
a film in 2006, and ''
The Believers'' (2008). ''The Believers'' was shortlisted for 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. ...
in 2010.
In 2009, she donated the short story ''What She Did On Her Summer Vacation'' to
Oxfam
Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International.
History
Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...
's '
Ox-Tales
Ox-Tales refers to four anthologies of short stories written by 38 of the UK's best-known authors. All donated their stories to Oxfam. The books and stories are loosely based on the four elements: Earth, Fire, Air and Water.
The Ox-Tales books w ...
' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the 'Water' collection.
Personal life
In 2006, she married screenwriter
Lawrence Konner
Lawrence Konner is an American screenwriter, producer and film director. Konner has written over twenty-five feature films, including ''Mona Lisa Smile'', ''Planet of the Apes'', '' The Legend of Billie Jean'', ''The Jewel of the Nile'', and ' ...
in a "minimally"
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ceremony;
the couple separated in 2010.
Heller lives in New York City with her two daughters, Lula and Frankie.
References
External links
*
"Zoë Heller : 'I loathe myself by the end of each week'" independent.co.uk; accessed 31 January 2015.
* ''
Jewish Chronicle
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
'', "Heller goes to Hollywood", 16 February 2007, p. 29.
Heller's Writings tnr.com; accessed 31 January 2015.
Video clips
Interviewwith
Allan Gregg in Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heller, Zoe
1965 births
Living people
Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford
Columbia University alumni
English columnists
English people of German-Jewish descent
English women novelists
21st-century English novelists
British women columnists
21st-century English women writers
English women non-fiction writers