Gordon receives Royal Society of Literature Prize

Edmund Gordon, Lecturer in Creative Writing in the Department of English, has won the prestigious Jerwood Award for non-fiction from the Royal Society of Literature. Gordon received a £5,000 award for his book Angela Carter – The Biography which will be published in 2016.

Angela Carter – The Biography is the first full biography of the novelist and is the first to be authorised by her estate. The book will also include a social and cultural history of the 1960s. Gordon intends to use the prize money to fund a trip to Tokyo, where Angela Carter lived between 1969 and 1972.  

Edmund Gordon joined King’s in September 2012 and is a regular contributor to the London Review of Books, Times Literary Supplement, The Guardian, Observer and the Sunday Times. He teaches creative and life writing in the Department of English.

Three winning authors were presented with awards from the Royal Society of Literature in December at the Savile Club in London. Award-winning journalist Ramita Navai won a £10,000 award for City of Lies a historical look at the city of Tehran, and consultant forensic psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead was awarded £5,000 for his book A Short Book About Evil.

The Royal Society of Literature Jerwood Awards recognise outstanding first works of non-fiction by commissioned authors and have been running since 2004. The Awards are given to commissioned authors and help financially support authors during the writing process. The Jerwood Charitable Foundation helps support artists across art forms, from dance and theatre to literature, music and the visual arts to develop and grow during their careers.