Adam Kay (writer) explained

Adam Kay (writer) should not be confused with Adam McKay.

Adam Kay
Birth Name:Adam Richard Kay
Birth Date:1980 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Brighton, England
Education:Dulwich College
Alma Mater:Imperial College London (MBBS)
Notable Works:This Is Going to Hurt (2017)

Adam Richard Kay (born 12 June 1980) is a British TV writer, author, comedian and former doctor. He is the author of the memoir This Is Going to Hurt (2017), about his time as a trainee doctor.Web site: Lauren. Laverne. June 2023. Desert Island Disics with Adam Kay. BBC. Radio 4. His television writing credits include This is Going to Hurt (based on his memoir of the same name), Crims, Mrs. Brown's Boys and Mitchell and Webb.

Early life and education

Adam Kay was born in Brighton, England, to Stewart and Naomi Kay, and grew up in a Jewish household with three siblings.[1] His father being a doctor, Kay describes becoming a doctor as being a default decision.[2] The Kay family was from Poland, the original family name being Strykowski.

Kay attended Dulwich College, leaving in 1997, and Imperial College London, where he read medicine and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) degree in 2004. During his time at medical school, Kay began performing in medical school shows in 1998.[3] While at medical school, he founded the musical comedy group Amateur Transplants and wrote for BBC Radio 4.[4]

Career

Kay initially trained in obstetrics and gynaecology before turning to writing.

Medicine

Kay worked as a doctor between 2004 and 2010, leaving the profession after a patient's caesarean section was complicated by an undiagnosed placenta praevia; the expectant mother was subsequently taken to the intensive care unit, while the baby was delivered stillborn, which left him with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Music

Kay founded the Amateur Transplants. Their song "London Underground", which was set to the tune of "Going Underground" by the Jam, gained significant popularity on the internet in the UK in 2005.[5] [6]

Writing

Kay's first book, This Is Going to Hurt, based on diaries from his former career as a doctor, was published by Picador in September 2017[7] and became a Sunday Times bestseller.[8] The paperback edition was also a Sunday Times number one bestseller,[9] a position it held for over a year[10] and selling more than 2.5 million copies.[11] It was chosen as Book of the Year in the UK's 2018 National Book Awards.[12] The book was well received by critics, including in the literary pages of The Times,[13] Financial Times,[14] Guardian,[15] and The Scotsman.[16]

In addition to being named Book of the Year, This Is Going to Hurt also won at the National Book Awards in the categories of Non-Fiction Book of the Year, New Writer of the Year and Book Club Book of the Year.[17] It was also awarded Blackwell's Debut Book of the Year 2017,[18] Sunday Times Humour Book of the Year,[19] and won both Non-Fiction Book of the Year and the overall prize in the 2017 Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards.[20] It was nominated for Non-Fiction Book of the Year in the 2018 British Book Awards,[21] won Esquire Book of the Year[22] and was a selection of the Zoe Ball Book Club.[23] This Is Going to Hurt has been translated into 28 languages,[24] achieving number-one status internationally.[25] It was the UK's second-best selling book of 2018.[26] On 6 July 2018, the BBC announced that Kay would be adapting This Is Going to Hurt as a seven-part comedy-drama for BBC One. It was made by Sister Pictures and Kay is one of the co-executive producers. Part one of the series, also titled This Is Going to Hurt, was broadcast on 8 February 2022.[27] Kay was awarded a BAFTA for his writing of the show at the 2023 British Academy Television Craft Awards.

Kay's second book, Twas the Nightshift before Christmas, was released in October 2019.[28]

Kay is now an established screenwriter, having written and co-created the 2015 BBC Three sitcom series Crims – along with Grandma's House writer Dan Swimer,[29] with other television work as a writer and script editor including Mrs. Brown's Boys, Mongrels, Watson & Oliver, Up the Women, Very British Problems, Flat TV, Our Ex Wife, Who Is America?, Mitchell and Webb and Child Genius.

In April 2020, it was announced that Trapeze would publish a collection of personal stories about the National Health Service (NHS) edited by Kay. Entitled Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You, the book includes letters from stars including Paul McCartney, Louis Theroux, and Caitlin Moran.[30]

Since 2020, Kay has written and released several children's books.[31]

In 2022, he published Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients.[32] [33]

Performing

Kay has sold out shows for six years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe[34] and has also had sell-out nationwide UK tours.[35] His 2018 tour of This Is Going to Hurt sold out a season at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC), the largest venue of the Edinburgh Fringe,[36] and a week at the Garrick Theatre, before culminating in two shows at the Hammersmith Apollo.[37] He performs regularly at cultural events including the Latitude Festival,[38] and the Cheltenham Literature Festival.[39] Kay won Best Musical Variety Act at the 2014 London Cabaret Awards[40] and has been named by the Evening Standard as one of London's most influential people.[41]

He has performed songs on the topical BBC Radio 4 series The Now Show[42] and has appeared on numerous TV shows, such as The Russell Howard Hour on Sky One,[43] BBC Breakfast, Lorraine,[44] Peston on Sunday[45] and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.[46]

Books

Personal life

Kay is gay,[54] and was voted in Pink News top 50 most influential LGBT Twitter users.[55] Kay married James Farrell in 2018, and together they have two children through surrogacy which he announced in June 2023.[56] [57] Kay and his family live in Oxfordshire, England.[58]

Notes and References

  1. News: Rudd . Matt . The Interview: Adam Kay on Boris Johnson, the NHS and his bestselling book, This Is Going to Hurt . . en . 26 April 2023 . 0140-0460.
  2. This Is Going to Hurt, .
  3. Medicine Unboxed. "Speakers at Medicine Unboxed", 1 November 2012.
  4. Curtis Brown Talent Agency. "Adam Kay". As of April 2017.
  5. Web site: 'London Underground' by Amateur Transplants – lyrics. 30 July 2009. London Underground Tube Diary.
  6. News: 14 February 2005. London Underground Song – The Video. London Underground Tube Diary.
  7. Picador. "Adam Kay's This Is Going To Hurt to be published by Picador" . 3 February 2017.
  8. Web site: Sunday Times Bestseller List. 17 September 2017. Sunday Times.
  9. News: Books: The Sunday Times Bestsellers chart, April 29. The Sunday Times. 29 April 2018. en. 0140-0460.
  10. News: Books: The Sunday Times Bestsellers, August 25. The Sunday Times. 25 August 2019. en.
  11. Web site: Sunner . Amber . 8 February 2022 . This Is Going To Hurt author Adam Kay's journey from NHS to TV . 26 April 2023 . BristolLive . en.
  12. Web site: Kay's This is Going to Hurt named Specsavers Book of the Year The Bookseller. thebookseller.com. Katherine . Cowdrey. 7 January 2019.
  13. News: Review: This is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay. Rentzenbrink. Cathy. 2 September 2017. The Times. 0140-0460.
  14. News: This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. Financial Times. September 2017. 6 November 2017. Liu. Rebecca.
  15. News: This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay – review. Smith. P. D.. 4 May 2018. The Guardian. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  16. Web site: Book review: This is Going to Hurt, by Adam Kay. The Scotsman. en. 4 October 2017.
  17. News: 'This Is Going To Hurt' author Adam Kay wins big at National Book Awards. Sky News. Ceren . Senkul. 22 November 2018. 21 November 2018. en-GB.
  18. Web site: Blackwell's reveals Book of the Year shortlist The Bookseller. thebookseller.com. Lisa. Campbell. en. 20 November 2017.
  19. News: Books of the year: Humour. Rudd. Reviews by Matt. The Times. 26 November 2017. 17 January 2018. 0140-0460.
  20. News: Doctor's diary This is Going to Hurt wins public vote for book of the year. 21 November 2017. The Guardian. Danuta. Kean. 0261-3077.
  21. Web site: Pan Macmillan nominated for 7 British Book Awards 2018. Pan Macmillan. en-GB. 25 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180326064423/https://www.panmacmillan.com/blogs/news/pan-macmillan-nominated-7-british-book-awards-2018. 26 March 2018. dead.
  22. News: 'This Is Going To Hurt' Is Esquire's Biography Of The Year. 31 August 2018. Esquire. Tom. Nicholson. en-GB.
  23. Web site: Debuts dominate 'wide-ranging' Zoe Ball Book Club line up The Bookseller. thebookseller.com. en. Katherine . Cowdrey. 17 May 2018.
  24. Web site: Adam Kay: This Is Going To Hurt. curtisbrown.co.uk. 12 October 2018.
  25. Web site: This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. en. 12 October 2018.
  26. News: The 100 bestselling books of the year: from Eleanor Oliphant to Michelle Obama. Dugdale. John. 29 December 2018. The Guardian. en-GB. 0261-3077.
  27. News: BBC One announces adaptation of bestseller This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay. 6 July 2018. BBC Media Centre.
  28. Web site: New Adam Kay for Christmas 2019 . The Bookseller. 1 November 2018 . Benedicte . Page.
  29. BBC Press Office. "BBC Three announces new comedy commissions", BBC, 20 March 2014.
  30. News: Dear NHS, edited by Adam Kay – celebrities say thank you. The Guardian. Fiona. Sturges. 8 July 2020.
  31. Web site: Bennett . Steve . Adam Kay signs up for more children's books : News 2021 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide. 16 March 2021 . 18 January 2023 . chortle.co.uk . en.
  32. Web site: British comedian raped in NZ, reveals attacker 'thanked' him after horror assault . 11 September 2022 . The New Zealand Herald . en-NZ. 11 September 2022.
  33. Book: Kay . Adam . Undoctored: The Story of a Medic Who Ran Out of Patients . 13 September 2022 . Orion . 978-1-3987-0038-3 . en.
  34. Chortle Review. "Amateur Transplants: Adam Kay's Smutty Songs". 9 August 2011.
  35. Bound & Gagged Comedy Promoters. "Adam Kay Biography" . As of March 2013.
  36. Web site: News: Apollo Gig For Adam Kay. 30 September 2018. Beyond The Joke. en. 12 October 2018.
  37. Web site: Adam Kay adds a second Hammersmith Apollo show : Other news 2018 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide . 12 October 2018 . chortle.co.uk . en.
  38. Latitude Festival. "2012 Latitude Line-up, Adam Kay". 13 July 2012.
  39. British Comedy Guide. "Edinburgh Fringe 2012, Adam Kay's Bum Notes". 1 August 2012
  40. London Cabaret Awards. "Best Musical Variety Act 2014" . 12 February 2014.
  41. News: The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2018 – Performance: Comedy. Evening Standard. 12 October 2018. en-GB.
  42. Now Show Homepage. "Series 45". 14 February 2015.
  43. Web site: Adam Kay interview – The Russell Howard Hour (Series 1, Episode 2) . British Comedy Guide. en-GB. 6 November 2017.
  44. Web site: Lorraine. The Junior Doctor Who Became a Comedian Lorraine. YouTube. 15 November 2017. 20 November 2017.
  45. News: Peston on Sunday Official. Peston Compressed – Episode 47. 20 October 2017.
  46. Web site: 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown – Episode Guide – All 4. Channel 4. en. 12 October 2018.
  47. Twas the Nightshift before Christmas
  48. Dear NHS: 100 Stories to Say Thank You. Trapeze
  49. Kay's Anatomy: A Complete (and Completely Disgusting) Guide to the Human Body, Delacorte Press
  50. Kay's Marvellous Medicine: A Gross and Gruesome History of the Human Body Puffin,
  51. Kay's Brilliant Brains, Puffin,
  52. Amy Gets Eaten, Puffin,
  53. Book: Kay, Adam . Kay's Incredible Inventions . Penguin . 2023 . 9780241540787.
  54. Web site: Adam Kay Interview – Wyvern Theatre Swindon. swindontheatres.co.uk.
  55. http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2011/12/31/pinknewscouks-most-influential-lgbt-twitter-users-of-2011/ "PinkNews.co.uk's top 50 Twitter users influencing LGBT life in 2011"
  56. https://play.acast.com/s/walkingthedog/adamkay-returns- "Walking the Dog with Emily Dean: Adam Kay – Returns!"
  57. Web site: Thorpe . Vanessa . Adam Kay tells of life 'transformed' by two babies . The Guardian . 17 June 2023 . 18 June 2023 .
  58. Web site: 14 September 2022 . Oxfordshire author of bestseller This Is Going To Hurt reveals some major traumas in his new book . Hannah . Stephenso. 30 June 2023 . Oxford Mail . en.

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