Jim Crace
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'''Jim Crace''' (born [[March 1]], [[1946]] in [[Hertfordshire]], [[England]]) is a contemporary English writer. The winner of numerous awards, Crace also has a large popular following. He currently lives in the [[Moseley]] area of [[Birmingham]] with his wife. They have two children.
==Biography==
Crace grew up in Forty Hill, an area at the far northern point of [[Greater London]], close to [[Enfield]] where Crace attended [[Enfield Grammar School]]. After securing a [[Bachelor's degree|BA (Hons)]] in [[English literature|English Literature]] from the [[University of London]] in [[1968]], he traveled overseas with the [[United Kingdom|UK]] organization [[Voluntary Services Overseas]] (VSO), working in [[Sudan]]. Two years later he returned to the UK, and worked with the [[BBC]], writing educational programmes. From [[1976]] to [[1987]] he worked as a [[Freelancer|freelance journalist]] for ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' and other newspapers.
In [[1974]] he published his first work of prose fiction, ''[[Annie, California Plates]]'' in [[The New Review]], and in the next 10 years would write a number of [[short stories]] and [[radio drama|radio plays]], including:
* ''[[Helter Skelter, Hang Sorrow, Care’ll Kill a Cat]]'', The New Review (December, 1975). Reprinted in [[Cosmopolitan (magazine)|Cosmopolitan]] and included in ''[[Introduction 6: Stories by new writers]]'', [[Faber and Faber]] (1977).
* ''[[Refugees (short)|Refugees]]'', winner of the Socialist Challenge short story competition (judges: [[John Fowles]], [[Fay Weldon]], [[Terry Eagleton]]), [[Socialist Challenge]] (1977).
* ''[[Seven Ages (short)|Seven Ages]]'', [[Quarto]] (June, 1980), broadcast as ''[[Middling (radio)|Middling]]'' by [[BBC Radio 3]].
* ''[[The Bird Has Flown (radio)|The Bird Has Flown]]'', radio play, broadcast on [[BBC Radio 4]], [[28 October]] [[1976]].
* ''[[A Coat of Many Colours (radio)|A Coat of Many Colours]]'', radio play, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, [[26 March]] [[1979]].
In [[1986]] Crace published ''[[Continent (novel)|Continent]]''. ''Continent'' won the Whitbread First Novel of the Year Award, the David Higham Prize for Fiction, and the Guardian Fiction prize. This work was followed by ''[[The Gift of Stones (novel)|The Gift of Stones]]'', ''[[Arcadia (novel)|Arcadia]]'', ''[[Signals of Distress (novel)|Signals of Distress]]'', ''[[Quarantine (Jim Crace novel)|Quarantine]]'', ''[[Being Dead (novel)|Being Dead]]'' and ''[[Six (novel)|Six]]''. His most recent novel, ''[[The Pesthouse (novel)|The Pesthouse]]'', was published in the UK in March 2007.
Crace's virtuosity is evident in the very different kinds of narratives that make up his oeuvre; despite living in Britain, he is more successful in the [[United States]], as evidenced by the award of the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1999. This disparity is perhaps in part because of his working class origins and his choice of residence in "unfashionable" Birmingham away from the media and publishing industries of London. Nevertheless, generally his peers have a very high regard for his work.{{Fact|date=January 2008}}
Crace is a keen amateur [[birdwatching|birdwatcher]]. His other major interest is live music at small venues.
== Bibliography ==
* ''[[The Pesthouse (novel)|The Pesthouse]]'' ([[2007]])
* ''[[Six (novel)|Six]]'' (UK title: published in the US as ''Genesis'') ([[2003]])
* ''[[The Devil's Larder (novel)|The Devil's Larder]]'' ([[2001]])
* ''[[Being Dead (novel)|Being Dead]]'' ([[1999]])
* ''[[Quarantine (Jim Crace novel)|Quarantine]]'' ([[1997]])
* ''[[The Slow Digestions of the Night (novel)|The Slow Digestions of the Night (short stories)]]'' ([[1995]])
* ''[[Signals of Distress (novel)|Signals of Distress]]'' ([[1994]])
* ''[[Arcadia (novel)|Arcadia]]'' ([[1992]])
* ''[[The Gift of Stones (novel)|The Gift of Stones]]'' ([[1988]])
* ''[[Continent (novel)|Continent]]'' ([[1986]])
== Awards ==
'''[[Booker Prize|Booker Prize for Fiction]]'''
* 1997 ''Quarantine'' (shortlist)
'''[[International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award]]'''
* 1999 ''Being Dead'' (shortlist)
'''[[National Book Critics Circle|National Book Critics Circle Fiction Award (USA)]]'''
* 1999 ''Being Dead''
'''[[Whitbread Book Awards]]'''
*1999 ''Being Dead'' (Novel - shortlist)
*1997 ''Quarantine'' (Novel)
*1986 ''Continent'' (First Novel)
'''[[Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize]]'''
*1995 ''Signals of Distress''
'''[[American Academy of Arts and Letters]]'''
*1992 [[E. M. Forster Award]]
'''[[GAP International Prize for Literature (USA)]]'''
*1989 ''The Gift of Stones''
'''[[Premio Antico Fattore]]'''
*1988
'''[[Guardian First Book Award|Guardian Fiction Prize]]'''
*1986 ''Continent''
'''[[David Higham Prize for Fiction]]'''
*1986 ''Continent''
==Criticism==
*[[Dale Peck|Peck, Dale]]. "The Devil You Know." Rev. of ''The Devil's Larder'' by Jim Crace. ''Hatchet Jobs''. New York: [[The New Press|New]], 2004. 133-49.
* [[Philip Tew|Tew, Philip]]. ''Jim Crace''. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2006.
==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
*[http://www.jim-crace.com/ Jim-Crace.com] - Original source for biography. Permission granted by [[Andrew Hewitt]]
*[http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth24 contemporarywriters.com] - Writer profile.
*[http://www.threemonkeysonline.com/threemon_article_jim_crace_interview.htm The Poet of Prose - Jim Crace in interview with Three Monkeys Online]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crace, Jim}}
[[Category:1946 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:English novelists]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of London]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature]]
[[Category:People from Birmingham, England]]
[[de:Jim Crace]]