Andrew O'Hagan (born 1968) is a Scottish novelist and non-fiction author. Three of his novels have been nominated for the

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

and he has won several awards, including the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize. His most recent novel is ''Caledonian Road'' (2024) published by

Faber Faber may refer to: People * Faber (surname) Companies * Faber & Faber, publishing house in the United Kingdom * Faber-Castell, German manufacturer of writing instruments * Faber Music, British sheet music publisher * Eberhard Faber, German ...

. His previous novel ''Mayflies'' (2020) won the Christopher Isherwood Prize, and was adapted into a two-part BBC television drama of the same name. O'Hagan was executive producer of the TV adaptation.

Early life and education

O'Hagan was born in Glasgow City Centre in 1968, of Irish Catholic descent, and grew up in

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, ; ) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is located on the banks of the River Garnock in Ayrshire, west/central Scotland, about southwest of Glasgow. Kilwinning's neighbours are the coastal towns of Stevenston to the west an ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire (, ) is one of 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and s ...

. His mother was a school cleaner, his father worked as a

joiner Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives, ...

in Paisley, and he had four elder brothers. His father was a violent

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

, and as a boy, he would hide books from his father under his bed. He attended St Winning's Primary then St Michael's Academy before studying at the

University of Strathclyde The University of Strathclyde () is a public research university located in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded in 1796 as the Andersonian Institute, it is Glasgow's second-oldest university, having received its royal charter in 1964 as the first techn ...

, the first in his family to reach tertiary education. He earned his BA (Honours) in English in 1990.

Writing career

In 1991, O'Hagan joined the staff of the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

'', where he worked for four years. In 1995, he published his first book, ''The Missing'', which drew from his own childhood and explored the lives of people who have gone missing in Britain and the families left behind. ''The Missing'' was shortlisted for three literary awards: the Esquire Award, the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award, and the McVities Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year award. In 1999, his debut novel, '' Our Fathers'' was nominated for several awards, including the

, the Whitbread First Novel Award and the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

. It won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. In 2003, his next novel ''Personality'', which features a character similar to Lena Zavaroni, won the

James Tait Black Memorial Prize The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Un ...

for fiction. That same year, O'Hagan won the E. M. Forster Award from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. In 2006, his third novel, ''Be Near Me'', was published by

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

and longlisted for that year's Man Booker Prize. It went on to win the 2007 ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction. In 2008, he edited a new selection of Robert Burns's poems for

Canongate Books Canongate Books (trading as Canongate) is an independent publishing firm based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Canongate area of the city. It is most recognised for publishing the Booker Prize winning novel '' Life of Pi'' (2001 ...

, published as ''A Night Out with Robert Burns''. A copy was lodged in every secondary school in Scotland. Following on from this, he wrote and presented a three-part film on Burns for the BBC, ''The World According to Robert Burns'', first on 5 January 2009. In January 2011, ''

Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by National World and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in ...

'' gave away 80,000 copies of the book. Also in 2008, Faber & Faber published O'Hagan's first non-fiction collection, ''The Atlantic Ocean: Essays on Britain and America'', which was shortlisted for the 2008 Saltire Book of the Year Award. His 2010 novel, ''The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe'', is told in the voice of a Scottish Maltese poodle ("Maf"), the name of the real dog given by

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

in 1960. It was published by Faber & Faber in May 2010 and won O'Hagan a Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award. In 2012, O'Hagan worked on a theatrical production about the crisis in British newspapers, entitled ''Enquirer'', with the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

. In March 2014, O'Hagan wrote about his experience as a ghost-writer for

Julian Assange Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to international attention in 2010 after WikiLeaks published a series of News leak, leaks from Chels ...

's autobiography (published by

Canongate The Canongate is a street and associated district in central Edinburgh, the capital city of Scotland. The street forms the main eastern length of the Royal Mile while the district is the main eastern section of Edinburgh's Old Town. David ...

and

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

). His essay, entitled "Ghosting", published in the ''London Review of Books'', gained significant media attention because of his description of Assange's character and strained relationships with past and present colleagues. In 2015, O'Hagan published his fifth novel ''The Illuminations: A Novel'', which was longlisted for the 2015

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

. In June 2016, the ''London Review of Books'' published a 35,612-word essay by O'Hagan, titled "The Satoshi Affair: Andrew O'Hagan on the many lives of Satoshi Nakamoto", which followed the events surrounding programmer Craig Wright's claim to be

bitcoin Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; Currency symbol, sign: ₿) is the first Decentralized application, decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 when an unknown entity published a white paper under ...

founder, Satoshi Nakomoto. In the article, O'Hagan describes how he was approached by Wright and , a group that he was associated with, in order to cover the exposure of Craig Wright's identity as Satoshi. Though the article is inconclusive as to the true identity of Satoshi, some have taken it as evidence that Wright is a fraud. In October 2017, O'Hagan published ''The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age'' which includes stories about his attempt to help Julian Assange write his memoirs, the author using the identity of a deceased man to make a new life on the Internet, and expanding on Craig Wright's claim to be Satoshi Nakamoto. In September 2020, O'Hagan published his sixth novel, ''Mayflies''. His essays, reports and stories have appeared in ''

'', ''

New York Review of Books New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

'', ''

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 make ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' and ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''.

Adaptations

Four of O'Hagan's books have received adaptations into different media. In 1996,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

Television presented ''Calling Bible John: Portrait of a Serial Killer'', nominated for a

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

award. In 2009, his novel ''Be Near Me'' was adapted by Ian McDiarmid for the

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

and the

. In September 2011, the

presented ''The Missing'' as a play adapted by O'Hagan and directed by John Tiffany at Tramway, Glasgow. The play received favourable reviews. ''The Daily Telegraph'' called it "a profound act of mourning and memory." ''The Guardian'' called the work "an arresting, genre-defying work – part speculative memoir, part Orwellian social reportage" that "induces the kind of shock he he authormust have experienced..." In December 2022

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

showed an adaptation of ''

Mayflies Mayflies (also known as shadflies or fishflies in Canada and the upper Midwestern United States, as Canadian soldiers in the American Great Lakes region, and as up-winged flies in the United Kingdom) are aquatic insects belonging to the order ...

'' starring Martin Compston,

Tony Curran Tony Curran is a Scottish actor who has appeared in the film '' Underworld: Evolution'' (2006), the television series ''Doctor Who'' (2010), the miniseries ''Roots'' (2016), and the Netflix historical drama film ''Outlaw King'' (2018). He appear ...

, and

Ashley Jensen Ashley Jensen (born 11 August 1969) is a Scottish actress and narrator. She is best known for her roles as Maggie Jacobs in '' Extras'' (2005–2007, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award), Christina McKinney in ''Ugly Betty'' (2006� ...

Other activities

In 2001, O'Hagan was named as a Goodwill Ambassador by the UK branch of

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

, and he has been involved in fundraising efforts for the organisation. He has travelled to Sudan, India, Malawi and Mozambique and has joined fellow ambassadors

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

, James Nesbitt,

Martin Bell Martin Bell, (born 31 August 1938) is a British UNICEF (UNICEF UK) Ambassador, a former broadcast war Journalist, reporter and former independent politician who became the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Ta ...

and Jemima Khan in campaigning for

Unicef UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

. In August 2017, O'Hagan gave a speech at The

Edinburgh International Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place during two weeks in August every year in the centre of Edinburgh, Scotland. Described as ''The largest festival of its kind in the world'', the festival hosts ...

, where he declared that he had become a supporter of

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

. , O'Hagan has been a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting scientist, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic fo ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. In June 2023, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' reported that the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

is seeking to gather new evidence in the

case, based on a request from the FBI to interview O'Hagan. O'Hagan refused the request, and said to the newspaper that "I would not give a witness statement against a fellow journalist being pursued for telling the truth. I would happily go to jail before agreeing in any way to support the American security establishment in this cynical effort." In June 2024, O'Hagan became an ambassador fo
Bookbanks
a new charity that brings books to food banks in the UK. He has been involved in fundraising efforts for the charity and gave the inaugural talk for the charity'
Matthew's Talks
series of events in food banks.

Personal life

O'Hagan has a daughter, whose mother is fellow author India Knight.

Recognition, awards and honours

O'Hagan was selected by the literary magazine ''Granta'' for inclusion in their 2003 list of the top 20 young British novelists, and his novels have been translated into 15 languages.

Book awards

Media awards

* 1996 –

, ''Calling Bible John'' (TV series, winner)

Other honours and appointments

*Trustee of George Orwell Trust *Patron of Scottish Book Trust *2008: Honorary Doctor of Letters,

*2008: Joined Robert Burns Humanitarian Award judging panel *2009: Honorary lifetime member of Irvine Burns Club *2010: Fellow of the

Royal Society of Literature The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820 by King George IV to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 800 Fellows, elect ...

*2019: Named chief judge of Scottish Arts Trust Story Awards, succeeding

Alexander McCall Smith Sir Alexander "Sandy" McCall Smith (born 24 August 1948) is a Scottish legal scholar and author of fiction. He was raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) and was formerly Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh. He became an ...

in that role, on 6 December 2019

Selected works

Fiction books

* '' Our Fathers'' (1999) * ''Personality'' (2003) * ''Be Near Me'' (2006) * '' The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe'' (2010) * ''The Illuminations'' (2015) * ''Mayflies'' (2020) * ''Caledonian Road'' (2024)

Non-fiction books

* ''The Missing'' (1995) * ''The Atlantic Ocean: Essays on Britain and America'' (2008) * ''The Secret Life: Three True Stories of the Digital Age'' (2017)

Other writings

* Short stories:
online text
from ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'', 7 December 2008 * As a ghostwriter: '' Julian Assange: The Unauthorised Autobiography'', 2011 * Editing: **''New Writing 11'', 2002 ** ''The Weekenders: Adventures in Calcutta'', 2004 ** ''A Night Out with Robert Burns'', 2008 * Book Reviews: **"Racing against reality" ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'' 54/11 (28 June 2007): 4–8 eview of Don DeLillo, ''Falling Man (novel)">Falling Man''">Don_DeLillo<.html" ;"title="Don_DeLillo.html" ;"title="eview of Don DeLillo">eview of Don DeLillo, ''Falling Man (novel)">Falling Man''** "Run" ''Publishers Weekly'' Fiction Reviews: Week of 16 July 2007. Review of ''Run (novel), Run'' by Ann Patchett. * ''The Satoshi Affair: Andrew O’Hagan on the many lives of Satoshi Nakamoto'' (2016, non-fiction) * ''"Ghosting"'' ''London Review of Books'', 6 March 2014 * ''The Tower'', a 60,000-word essay about the

Grenfell Tower fire On 14 June 2017, a List of fires in high-rise buildings, high-rise fire broke out in the 24-storey Grenfell Tower block of Public housing in the United Kingdom, flats in North Kensington, West London, England, at 00:54 British Summer Time, BST ...

in ''The London Review of Books''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ohagan, Andrew 1968 births Date of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Scottish male writers 20th-century Scottish novelists 21st-century British male writers 21st-century Scottish novelists Alumni of the University of Strathclyde Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Granta people James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients People from Kilwinning Scottish journalists Scottish literary critics Scottish magazine editors Scottish male novelists Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish Roman Catholics Writers from Glasgow

Early life and education

Writing career

Adaptations

Other activities

Personal life

Recognition, awards and honours

Book awards

Media awards

Other honours and appointments

Selected works

Fiction books

Non-fiction books

Other writings

References

Further reading

External links