Naomi Alderman
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Naomi Alderman (born 1974) is an English
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...
and game writer. She is best known for her speculative science fiction novel '' The Power'', which won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2017.


Biography

Alderman was born in London, the daughter of Geoffrey Alderman, a specialist in
Anglo-Jewish British Jews (often referred to collectively as British Jewry or Anglo-Jewry) are British citizens who identify as Jewish. The number of people who identified as Jews in the United Kingdom rose by just under 4% between 2001 and 2021. History ...
history who has described himself as an unconventional Orthodox Jew. Alderman was educated at South Hampstead High School and
Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, the ...
, where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. After she left Oxford, she worked in children's publishing and then for a law firm, editing their publications. She went on to study creative writing at the
University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...
before becoming a novelist. In 2007, ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' named her their Young Writer of the Year. In 2007, she was named as one of the 25 Writers of the Future by Waterstones. In 2012, Alderman was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at
Bath Spa University Bath Spa University is a public university in Bath, England, with its main campus at Newton Park, about west of the centre of the city. The university has other campuses in the city of Bath, and one at Corsham Court in Wiltshire. The instit ...
, England. In 2013, she was included in the '' Granta'' once-a-decade list of 20 best young writers. She writes a monthly technology column for ''
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 ...
''. Alderman became an advocate for feminism in her teenage years and has since supported women's rights, which has influenced her works. She stated in a 2018 ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' interview, "When I was a teenager in the 1990s, it was a common thing among young women to say that feminism's battles are won. Now I think it's very horrifically obvious that that is not the case." She wrote ''The Power'' to address points made by the fourth-wave feminism movement and cites the Me Too movement as an inspiration and a source of similar dialogue.


Works

Alderman was the lead writer for ''
Perplex City Perplex City was an alternate reality game created by the London-based developer Mind Candy under the direction of the lead producer and designer, Adrian Hon, that ran from April 2005 to February 2007. The first "season" of the game had playe ...
'', an alternate reality game, at Mind Candy from 2004 through June 2007. She went on to become lead writer on the running app ''
Zombies, Run! ''Zombies, Run!'' is a 2012 mobile fitness game co-developed and published by British studio Six to Start and Naomi Alderman for iOS and Android platforms. Set around Abel Township, a small outpost trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, players ...
'' which launched in 2012 and on the walking app The Walk which launched in December 2013. In 2018 The Walk was turned into a podcast and released through Panoply Media. Alderman's literary début came in 2006 with '' Disobedience'', a well-received, if somewhat controversial, novel about a North London rabbi's bisexual daughter living in New York, which won her the 2006
Orange Award for New Writers The Orange Award for New Writers was a prize given by telecommunications company Orange between 2006 and 2010. It was launched to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Orange Prize for Fiction. The award was supported by Arts Council England an ...
, the 2007 ''Sunday Times'' Young Writer of the Year Award, and a feature as one of the Waterstones 25 Writers for the Future. It led her to reject her life as a practising Jew. "I went into the novel religious and by the end I wasn't. I wrote myself out of it," she told
Claire Armitstead Claire Armitstead is a British journalist and author. She is Associate Editor (Culture) at ''The Guardian'', where she has worked since 1992. She is also a cultural commentator on literature and the arts, and makes appearances on radio and televi ...
of ''
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 ...
'' in 2016. Her second novel, ''The Lessons,'' was published in 2010. Her third novel, ''The Liars' Gospel'' (Viking), with Jesus portrayed as the Jewish preacher Yehoshuah, was published in paperback in 2012. Reviewing the book, Shoshi Ish-Horowicz in the ''
Jewish Renaissance ''Jewish Renaissance'' is a quarterly cultural magazine, founded in October 2001, covering Jewish culture, arts and communities in Britain and beyond. It is edited by Rebecca Taylor, a former News Editor at ''Time Out London''. Scope and con ...
'' magazine described it as "an entertaining, engaging read" but found the story it told "uncomfortable and problematic. Your enjoyment of the novel will depend on how you respond to the premise that Jesus was, potentially, an 'inconsequential preacher'". Set in and around Jerusalem between
Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...
's
Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC) The siege of Jerusalem (63 BC) occurred during Pompey the Great's campaigns in the East, shortly after his successful conclusion of the Third Mithridatic War. Pompey had been asked to intervene in a dispute over inheritance to the throne of th ...
and
Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
' Siege of Jerusalem (70), it is narrated in four main sections from the perspective of four key figures: Mary,
Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...
, Caiaphas and Barabbas. All three novels have been serialised 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' ...
'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, ...
''. She wrote the narrative for ''The Winter House'', an online interactive linear short story visualised by Jey Biddulph. The project was commissioned by BookTrust as part of the Story campaign, supported by
Arts Council England Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...
. Her ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'' novel ''Borrowed Time'' was published in June 2011. In 2012, Alderman was selected as a protégée by
Margaret Atwood Margaret Eleanor Atwood (born November 18, 1939) is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nin ...
as part of the
Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative Rolex SA () is a British-founded Swiss watch designer and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by Hans Wilsdorf and Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex'' as the brand name of ...
, an international philanthropic programme that pairs masters in their disciplines with emerging talents for a year of one-to-one creative exchange. Atwood and Alderman co-wrote “The Happy Zombie Sunrise Home” and self-published the work online on Wattpad in 2012. Alderman's fourth novel, '' The Power'', was published in 2016. ''The Power'' is dedicated to and influenced by Atwood. ''The Power'' won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2017. Alderman has confirmed that she has sold the rights of ''The Power'' to Sister Pictures, the same company who produced ''
Broadchurch ''Broadchurch'' is a British crime drama television series broadcast on ITV for three series between 2013 and 2017. It was created by Chris Chibnall, who acted as an executive producer and wrote all 24 episodes and produced by Kudos in assoc ...
'', after receiving eleven offers. She is hoping for a multi-season run to explore and delve into the world she created in ''The Power''.Cowdrey, Katherine (16 December 2016)
"Alderman's ‘The Power’ to Be TV Series"
''The Bookseller''.


Bibliography

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References


External links


Personal blogAlderman
at ''
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 ...
'' – indexes her contributions
Alderman at agent David Higham

"Naomi Alderman's first novel ..."
''The Guardian'', 20 February 2006, based on an interview
Interview in ''Scotland on Sunday''
(April 2010) at ''
The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
''
"UK authors of the future unveiled"
(2007) at BBC News * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alderman, Naomi 1974 births Living people 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English novelists Academics of Bath Spa University Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford Alumni of the University of East Anglia English Jewish writers Jewish novelists People educated at South Hampstead High School