Andrew Michael Hurley (born 1975) [1] is a British writer whose debut novel, The Loney, was published in a limited edition of 350 copies on 1 October 2014 by Tartarus Press [2] [3] and was published under Hodder and Stoughton's John Murray imprint in 2015 ( ISBN 9781473619821). [4] He was interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Open Book programme "British Gothic" in October 2015. [5]
Hurley has previously had two volumes of short stories published by Lime Tree Press : Cages and Other Stories (2006, ISBN 9781411699021) and The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories (2008, ISBN 9780955981401). [3]
The Loney was reviewed in The Guardian and The Telegraph. [6] [7] It is set in the area of Morecambe Bay in north west England, described in the text as "that strange nowhere between the Wyre and the Lune". [4] Hurley has said that the novel's two starting points were "to write a kind of dark version of the Nativity [...] and exploring ideas of faith and belief" and "various wild, lonely places on the north west coast of Lancashire [...] a sense of imminent menace or dormant power lying just under the sand and the water". [8] It is the winner of the 2015 Costa Book Award for First Novel [9] as well as the British Book Industry Award for best debut fiction and book of the year. [10]
His second novel, Devil's Day, was published on 19 October 2017 by John Murray ( ISBN 978-1473619869) [11] and Tartarus Press ( ISBN 9781905784981) [12] Its setting, "The Endlands", is based on Langden valley in Lancashire's Forest of Bowland. [13] The book "deploys myth, landscape and the tropes of horror to chilling effect". [14] [15] Hurley was joint winner of the Royal Society of Literature's 2018 Encore Award for best second novel. [16]
Hurley's third novel Starve Acre was published 31 October 2019 by John Murray ( ISBN 9781529387261). The "Starve Acre" of the title is the home of a couple whose child has died, and it is "a novel which grapples with the irrationality and complexity of grief, the power and potency of folklore, and a moving examination of the effect a child's loss can have on its parents". [17] The Guardian's critic described it as "an atmospheric tale in the same tradition of English folk-horror" as his previous two books. [18] The film Starve Acre based on the book, was directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, starred Morfydd Clark and Matt Smith, and premiered at the BFI London Film Festival 2023. [19]
His fourth novel, Barrowbeck is to be published in October 2024. [20]
He lives in Lancashire, where he teaches English literature and creative writing. [3]
Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | The Loney | Costa Book Awards | First Novel | Won | |
Waverton Good Read Award | — | Longlisted | |||
2016 | Authors' Club First Novel Award | — | Longlisted | ||
British Book Industry Awards | Debut Fiction | Selected | |||
2018 | Devil's Day | Encore Award | — | Won |
Andrew Michael Hurley (born 1975) [1] is a British writer whose debut novel, The Loney, was published in a limited edition of 350 copies on 1 October 2014 by Tartarus Press [2] [3] and was published under Hodder and Stoughton's John Murray imprint in 2015 ( ISBN 9781473619821). [4] He was interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Open Book programme "British Gothic" in October 2015. [5]
Hurley has previously had two volumes of short stories published by Lime Tree Press : Cages and Other Stories (2006, ISBN 9781411699021) and The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories (2008, ISBN 9780955981401). [3]
The Loney was reviewed in The Guardian and The Telegraph. [6] [7] It is set in the area of Morecambe Bay in north west England, described in the text as "that strange nowhere between the Wyre and the Lune". [4] Hurley has said that the novel's two starting points were "to write a kind of dark version of the Nativity [...] and exploring ideas of faith and belief" and "various wild, lonely places on the north west coast of Lancashire [...] a sense of imminent menace or dormant power lying just under the sand and the water". [8] It is the winner of the 2015 Costa Book Award for First Novel [9] as well as the British Book Industry Award for best debut fiction and book of the year. [10]
His second novel, Devil's Day, was published on 19 October 2017 by John Murray ( ISBN 978-1473619869) [11] and Tartarus Press ( ISBN 9781905784981) [12] Its setting, "The Endlands", is based on Langden valley in Lancashire's Forest of Bowland. [13] The book "deploys myth, landscape and the tropes of horror to chilling effect". [14] [15] Hurley was joint winner of the Royal Society of Literature's 2018 Encore Award for best second novel. [16]
Hurley's third novel Starve Acre was published 31 October 2019 by John Murray ( ISBN 9781529387261). The "Starve Acre" of the title is the home of a couple whose child has died, and it is "a novel which grapples with the irrationality and complexity of grief, the power and potency of folklore, and a moving examination of the effect a child's loss can have on its parents". [17] The Guardian's critic described it as "an atmospheric tale in the same tradition of English folk-horror" as his previous two books. [18] The film Starve Acre based on the book, was directed by Daniel Kokotajlo, starred Morfydd Clark and Matt Smith, and premiered at the BFI London Film Festival 2023. [19]
His fourth novel, Barrowbeck is to be published in October 2024. [20]
He lives in Lancashire, where he teaches English literature and creative writing. [3]
Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | The Loney | Costa Book Awards | First Novel | Won | |
Waverton Good Read Award | — | Longlisted | |||
2016 | Authors' Club First Novel Award | — | Longlisted | ||
British Book Industry Awards | Debut Fiction | Selected | |||
2018 | Devil's Day | Encore Award | — | Won |