Kit de Waal
Mandy Theresa O'Loughlin (born 26 July 1960), known professionally as Kit de Waal, is an English writer. De Waal's debut novel, My Name Is Leon, was published by Penguin Books in June 2016. After securing the publishing deal with Penguin, she used some of her advance to set up the Kit de Waal Creative Writing Fellowship to help improve working-class representation in the arts.[1] The audiobook version of My Name is Leon is voiced by Sir Lenny Henry. De Waal has also published several short stories.
Early life
De Waal was born in Birmingham, England, to Sheila O'Loughlin (née Doyle), a foster carer, registered child minder and auxiliary nurse, and Arthur Desmond O'Loughlin, a bus driver. Her maternal grandparents were Irish, from County Wexford, her father was from Basseterre, St. Kitts in the West Indies and a descendant of William Julius.
Education and career
De Waal attended Waverly Grammar School in Small Heath, Birmingham. She worked for 15 years in criminal and family law and as a magistrate (Justice of the Peace). She sits on adoption panels, worked as an adviser for Social Services and has written training manuals on adoption and foster care.
She began writing for pleasure at an early age, and when her children were relatively independent, she decided to study creative writing which she did at Oxford Brookes University, achieving a master's degree.
The Kit de Waal Creative Writing Scholarship
The Kit de Waal Creative Writing Scholarship is a fully funded scholarship, created and funded by de Waal at Birkbeck, University of London.[1][2][3]
The first scholarship, to be launched in October 2016 at Birkbeck's Department of English and Humanities, will provide a fully funded place for one student to study on the Birkbeck Creative Writing MA. The Scholarship also includes a generous travel bursary to allow the student to travel into London for classes and Waterstones' vouchers to allow the student to buy books on the reading list.[2]
Personal life
De Waal is married to John de Waal, QC, son of Victor de Waal. They have two children.
Prizes and publications
| Publication | year | Publisher/Prize |
|---|---|---|
| My Name is Leon | 2016 | Viking Penguin |
| "Crushing Big" | 2015 | Bridport Prize, Flash Fiction, First Prize |
| "I Am the Painter's Daughter" | 2015 | Bare Fiction, Flash Fiction, Second Prize |
| "Romans 1 Verse 29, Sins of the Heart" | 2014 | Bridport Prize, Flash Fiction, First Prize |
| "The Beautiful Thing" | 2014 | Bath Short Story Award Short Story Second Prize and BBC Radio 4 Drama |
| "Adrift at the Athena" | 2014 | A Midlands Odyssey and BBC Radio 4 Drama |
| "The Old Man & The Suit" | 2014 | Costa Short Story Award, Second Prize |
| "Blue in Green" | 2014 | Readers’ Choice award, SI Leeds Literary Prize |
| "A Glass Of Light Of Silver" | 2013 | Final Chapters Anthology: Writings About The End Of Life |
| "The Way Of The World" | 2013 | The Sea In Birmingham, anthology |
| "A Taste of Death" | 2011 | Fish Prize, shortlisted |
References
- 1 2 Dawn Foster, "Kit de Waal: 'Working-class stories need to be told'", The Guardian, 3 February 2016.
- 1 2 "Fully funded creative writing scholarship launched at Birkbeck", News — Birkbeck, University of London.
- ↑ Sarah Shaffi, "De Waal to fund diversity scholarship", The Bookseller, 5 November 2015.
External links
- The Kit de Waal Creative Writing Scholarship, Birkbeck, University of London
- KitdeWaal.com. Official website