Gordon Burn Explained

Gordon Burn
Birth Place:Newcastle upon Tyne, England
Death Place:England
Occupation:Journalist, novelist

Gordon Burn (16 January 1948 – 17 July 2009)[1] was an English writer born in Newcastle upon Tyne and the author of four novels and several works of non-fiction.

Background

Burn's novels explore the issues of modern fame and faded celebrity as lived through the media spotlight.[2] His novel Alma Cogan (1991), which imagined the future life of the British singer Alma Cogan had she not died in 1966, won the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel. His other novels, Fullalove and The North of England Home Service, were published in 1995 and 2003, respectively.

His non-fiction works deal primarily with sport and true crime. Burn's first book, Somebody's Husband, Somebody's Son, was a study of Peter Sutcliffe, 'the Yorkshire Ripper,' and his 1998 book, Happy Like Murderers: The Story of Fred and Rosemary West, dealt in similar detail with two of Britain's most notorious serial killers.[3]

Burn's interest in such infamous villains extended to his fiction, with Myra Hindley, one of the 'Moors murderers', featuring prominently in the novel Alma Cogan.[4] His sport-based books consisted of Pocket Money: Inside the World of Snooker (1986) and Best and Edwards: Football, Fame and Oblivion (2006), the latter of which examines the twin stories of Manchester United footballers Duncan Edwards and George Best, and the "trajectory of two careers unmoored in wildly different ways."

He also wrote a book in conjunction with British artist Damien Hirst, On the Way to Work, a collection of interviews from various dates between 1992 and 2001. A regular contributor to The Guardian, his columns often focused on contemporary art.[5]

Gordon Burn died of bowel cancer in 2009, aged 61.

Sex & Violence, Death & Silence

Sex & Violence, Death & Silence is a book written by Gordon Burn in 2009 and published by Faber and Faber.[6] It contains selections of writing by Burn about art and artists (as well as art dealers and collectors) spanning almost thirty-five years, including interviews and reviews as well as extracts from his novel Alma Cogan. It opens with a foreword by Damien Hirst with David Peace.

Gordon Burn died in the summer of 2009, whilst the book was being prepared for publication.

The artists discussed in the book are as follows:

British art dealer Nigel Greenwood is also featured.

Critical reception

Nicholas Lezard described the work as being "knowledgeable, thorough and readable".[7]

Bibliography

Fiction

Non-fiction

Gordon Burn Prize

In 2013 the Gordon Burn Prize was launched "to reward fiction or non-fiction written in the English language, which in the opinion of the judges most successfully represents the spirit and sensibility of Gordon's literary methods: novels which dare to enter history and interrogate the past...literature which challenges perceived notions of genre and makes us think again about just what it is that we are reading."[8]

The prize is jointly organised by the Gordon Burn Trust, New Writing North and Faber & Faber. The winner receives £5,000 and is offered the use of Burn's cottage in Berwickshire as a writers' retreat. Up until 2024, the prize ceremony was generally the first event of the Durham Book Festival. In 2024, the prize fund was doubled to £10,000 due to new sponsors and the award ceremony relocated to Newcastle upon Tyne.[9] [10]

Shortlists and Winners

!Year !Author !Title !Publisher!Ref
2013Ben MyersPig IronBluemoose Books[11] [12]
Anthony CartwrightHow I Killed Margaret ThatcherTindal Street Press[13] [14]
Duncan HamiltonThe Footballer Who Could FlyCentury
Richard Lloyd ParryPeople Who Eat DarknessJonathan Cape
Jean Rafferty Myra, Beyond SaddleworthWild Wolf Publishing
2014Paul Kingsnorth The WakeUnbound[15]
Richard BensonThe ValleyBloomsbury[16] [17]
Richard HouseThe KillsPicador
Olivia LaingThe Trip to Echo SpringCanongate
Gruff RhysAmerican InteriorHamish Hamilton
Willy VlautinThe FreeFaber and Faber
2015Dan DaviesQuercus[18]
Honor GavinMidlandPenned in the Margins[19] [20]
Romesh GunesekeraNoon Tide TollGranta Books
Richard KingOriginal RockersFaber and Faber
Peter PomerantsevNothing Is True and Everything Is PossiblePublicAffairs
2016David SzalayAll That Man IsJonathan Cape[21] [22]
Jeremy GavronA Woman on the Edge of Time: A Son’s Search for his MotherScribe[23] [24]
Olivia LaingPicador
Ottessa MoshfeghEileenPenguin Press
Harry ParkerAnatomy of a SoldierFaber and Faber
Adrian TempanyAnd the Sun Shines NowFaber and Faber
2017Denise MinaThe Long DropHarvill Secker[25] [26]
Adelle StripeBlack Teeth and a Brilliant SmileWrecking Ball Press[27] [28]
Kapka KassabovaBorder: A Journey to the Edge of EuropeGranta Books
Gwendoline RileyFirst LoveGranta Books
David KeenanThis Is Memorial DeviceFaber and Faber
Lara PawsonThis Is the Place to BeCB Editions
2018Jesse BallCensusGranta Books[29]
Nicola BarkerH(a)ppyWilliam Heinemann[30] [31]
Guy GunaratneIn Our Mad and Furious CityTinder Press
Olivia LaingCrudoPicador
Deborah LevyThe Cost of LivingHamish Hamilton
Michelle McNamaraI’ll Be Gone in the DarkFaber and Faber
2019David KeenanFor the Good TimesFaber and Faber[32]
Bernardine EvaristoGirl, Woman, OtherHamish Hamilton[33] [34]
Nafissa Thompson-SpiresHeads of the Colored PeopleChatto & Windus
Max PorterLannyFaber and Faber
Pat BarkerThe Silence of the GirlsPenguin
Niven GovindenThis Brutal HouseDialogue Books
2020Peter PomerantsevThis Is Not PropagandaFaber and Faber[35]
Jenn AshworthNotes Made While FallingGoldsmiths Press[36] [37]
Paul MendezRainbow MilkDialogue Books
Deborah OrrMotherwell: A GirlhoodWeidenfeld & Nicolson
Lemn SissayMy Name Is WhyCanongate
Lisa TaddeoThree WomenBloomsbury
2021Hanif AbdurraqibA Little Devil in AmericaAllen Lane[38]
Sam ByersCome Join Our DiseaseFaber and Faber[39]
Doireann Ní GhríofaA Ghost in the ThroatTramp Press
Jenni FaganLuckenboothWilliam Heinemann
Salena GoddenMrs Death Misses DeathCanongate
Tabitha LasleySea StateHarperCollins
2022Preti TanejaAftermathAnd Other Stories[40] [41]
David WhitehouseAbout a SonPhoenix Press[42]
Graeme Macrae BurnetCase StudySaraband
Margo JeffersonConstructing a Nervous SystemGranta Books
Lea YpiAllen Lane
2023 / 2024Kathryn ScanlanKick the LatchDaunt Originals[43]
Rory CarrollKilling ThatcherMudlark[44] [45]
Jonathan EscofferyIf I Survive You4th Estate
Anna FunderWifedom: Mrs Orwell’s Invisible LifeViking Press
John NivenO BrotherCanongate
Megan NolanOrdinary Human FailingsJonathan Cape
Split ToothAnd Other Stories

Notes and References

  1. News: Groundbreaking author Gordon Burn dies aged 61. . London . Richard . Lea . 20 July 2009 . 3 May 2010.
  2. News: Observer review: Best and Edwards: Football, Fame and Oblivion. The Observer. 1 October 2006. 17 July 2009 . London . Simon . Garfield.
  3. Web site: Bibliography. Gordon Burn Trust. 20 August 2014.
  4. News: Gordon Burn: Rewriting the Past . Brian . Donaldson . . 1 August 2008 . 17 July 2009 .
  5. Web site: Gordon Burn Page 2 of 5 Books The Guardian . 2024-03-08 . the Guardian . en.
  6. Book: Sex & Violence, Death & silence. .
  7. Web site: Lezard . Nicholas . Sex & Violence, Death & Silence by Gordon Burn Book review . The Guardian. 19 August 2018 . en . 28 November 2009.
  8. Web site: The Prize. Gordon Burn Trust. 20 August 2014.
  9. Web site: Shortlist Gordon Burn Prize 2023-24 Gordon Burn Trust . 2024-03-08 . gordonburntrust.com.
  10. Web site: Fraine . Laura . 2023-03-23 . New sponsor, bigger prize fund and new chair of judges for the Gordon Burn Prize . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  11. Web site: Bury . Liz . 21 October 2013 . Benjamin Myers claims inaugural Gordon Burn prize . 3 September 2014 . . Guardian News and Media.
  12. News: Award honours influential writer . 2024-03-08 . BBC News . en-GB.
  13. Web site: 2013-08-16 . Content - News . https://web.archive.org/web/20141017083802/http://gordonburntrust.com/index.php?id=8 . 2014-10-17 . 2024-03-08 . www.gordonburntrust.com.
  14. Web site: Tallentire . Mark . 2013-08-07 . Five on Gordon Burn prize shortlist . 2024-03-08 . The Northern Echo . en.
  15. Web site: 10 October 2014 . Mark Rylance-backed novel wins £5,000 literary prize . 11 October 2014 . BBC News.
  16. Web site: Taylor . Chris . 12 August 2014 . Gordon Burn Prize 2014: Super Furry Animals frontman nominated . 10 September 2014 . The Daily Telegraph.
  17. News: 2014-08-13 . Super Furry Animals musician makes book prize shortlist . 2024-03-08 . BBC News . en-GB.
  18. News: 9 October 2015 . Journalist wins award for Jimmy Savile book . 2015-10-10 . BBC News.
  19. Web site: Tallentire . Mark . 2015-10-09 . Jimmy Savile investigation wins book prize . 2024-03-08 . The Northern Echo . en.
  20. Web site: Lowes . Jude . 2015-08-11 . Gordon Burn Prize shortlist announced . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  21. Web site: Flood . Alison . 7 October 2016 . David Szalay's 'unsparing' All That Man Is wins Gordon Burn prize . 8 November 2016 . The Guardian.
  22. Web site: Tayler . Christopher . 2018-11-30 . Turbulence by David Szalay — the mile high-club . 2024-03-08 . www.ft.com.
  23. Web site: Cowdrey . Katherine . 2016-10-07 . David Szalay wins Gordon Burn Prize 2016 . 2024-03-08 . The Bookseller . En.
  24. Web site: Wonfor . Sam . 2016-08-09 . Gordon Burns Prize 2016 shortlist announced . 2024-03-08 . Chronicle Live . en.
  25. News: Lawson . Mark . 2017-11-30 . The best crime books and thrillers of 2017 . 2024-03-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  26. Web site: Lowes . Jude . 2017-10-12 . The winner of the Gordon Burn Prize 2017 is announced . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  27. Web site: Lewis . Chrissie . 2017-07-22 . Gordon Burn Prize Shortlist! . 2024-03-08 . Wrecking Ball Press . en-US.
  28. Web site: Fraine . Laura . 2017-07-21 . Gordon Burn Prize 2017 – shortlist announced . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  29. Web site: Flood . Alison . 11 October 2018 . Jesse Ball's 'strange and beautiful' Census wins Gordon Burn prize . 16 October 2018 . The Guardian.
  30. Web site: Onwuemezi . Natasha . 2018-07-20 . McNamara makes 2018 Gordon Burn shortlist . 2024-03-08 . The Bookseller . En.
  31. Web site: Lowes . Jude . 2018-07-20 . Shortlist announced for Gordon Burn Prize 2018 . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  32. Web site: Flood . Alison . 11 October 2019 . David Keenan's Troubles novel For the Good Times wins Gordon Burn prize . 18 October 2019 . The Guardian.
  33. Web site: Fraine . Laura . 2019-07-17 . Shortlist announced for Gordon Burn Prize 2019 . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  34. Web site: Wood . Heloise . 2019-07-17 . Porter and Barker shortlisted for 2019 Gordon Burn Prize . 2024-03-08 . The Bookseller . En.
  35. News: Lea . Richard . 2020-10-15 . Peter Pomerantsev's study of 'the war against reality' wins Gordon Burn prize . 2020-10-20 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  36. Web site: Fraine . Laura . 2020-07-23 . Shortlist announced for Gordon Burn Prize 2020 . 2024-03-08 . New Writing North . en.
  37. Web site: Comerford . Ruth . 2020-07-23 . Sissay, Taddeo and Mendez shortlisted for Gordon Burn Prize . 2024-03-08 . The Bookseller . En.
  38. News: Flood . Alison . 14 October 2021 . Hanif Abdurraqib wins the Gordon Burn prize for A Little Devil in America . 20 November 2021 . The Guardian.
  39. News: Knight . Lucy . 2021-08-13 . Sam Byers and Salena Godden shortlisted for the Gordon Burn prize . 2024-03-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  40. News: Knight . Lucy . 13 October 2022 . 2022 Gordon Burn prize awarded to London Bridge terror attack examination, Aftermath . 14 October 2022 . The Guardian . en.
  41. News: Khanna . Aditi . 2022-10-20 . British Indian author Preti Taneja bags Gordon Burn Prize for 'Aftermath' on 2019 London Bridge terror attack . 2024-03-08 . The Economic Times . 0013-0389.
  42. News: Shaffi . Sarah . 2022-08-03 . Gordon Burn prize shortlist announced: jazz icons, true crime and a rogue psychotherapist . 2024-03-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  43. News: Creamer . Ella . 2024-03-07 . Kathryn Scanlan wins Gordon Burn prize for novel Kick the Latch . 2024-03-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  44. News: Creamer . Ella . 2024-01-25 . Gordon Burn prize announces 'blazing' shortlist . 2024-03-08 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  45. News: Doyle . Martin . 2024-01-25 . Magee and Morris on Dylan Thomas Prize longlist; Nolan and Carroll on Gordon Burn Prize shortlist; Bernie McGill wins Edge Hill story prize . 2024-03-08 . The Irish Times . en.

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