Graeme Armstrong (author) explained

Graeme Armstrong
Birth Place:Airdrie, Scotland
Alma Mater:University of Stirling
Birth Date:1991

Graeme Armstrong (born 1991)[1] is a Scottish author best known for his debut novel, The Young Team. The novel won the 2021 Betty Trask Award and Somerset Maugham Award,[2] [3] and was Scots Language Awards 'Scots Book of the Year' in the same year. The Young Team is currently being adapted for television by Synchronicity Films.[4]

In April 2023, Granta included Armstrong on their "Best of Young British Novelists" list,[5] [6] an honour presented every ten years to the twenty most significant British novelists under forty.[7]

Biography

Armstrong is from Airdrie, Scotland.[8] [9] As a teenager he was involved in North Lanarkshire's 'young team' territorial gang culture as a member of the Young Mavis, from Glenmavis.[10] At fourteen, he was expelled from Airdrie Academy and began attending Coatbridge High School, where he joined another gang, the Lang El Toi (LL TOI) from Langloan, Coatbridge.[9]

Aged sixteen, following the deaths of three friends by heroin overdose and after reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, Armstrong pursued a route of higher education, and began to break away from gang life.[11] [10] During his time in gangs, he struggled with alcohol abuse, drug addiction and violence.[12] [9] Armstrong "stopped taking drugs on Christmas Day 2012" and speaks candidly about having a Christian faith. His experiences inspired his debut novel, The Young Team, which is written in West Central Scots language.[9] [10] [13]

In 2013, Armstrong received a 2:1 Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degree in English Studies from the University of Stirling and returned there to complete a Master of Letters in Creative Writing, graduating with Merit in 2015.[10] As of 2023, he is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.[14]

Armstrong hosts workshops and conferences around youth violence, substance abuse and gang culture in schools and prisons. He has worked with the Violence Reduction Unit and Community Justice Scotland[15] and other organisations involved in violence prevention, such as Medics Against Violence.[16] In 2022, he spoke at the annual School Leaders Scotland conference and continues to work within the community.[17] [18]

In 2021, Armstrong wrote and starred in a short film for the Edinburgh International Book Festival Infectious Nihilism and Small Metallic Pieces of Hope directed by James Price. Later that year, he presented a BBC documentary, Scotland the Rave with IWC Media, which was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA Scotland and Royal Television Society Scotland award.[19]

At the 2023 Education Scotland 'Scottish Attainment Challenge' conference, Armstrong gave a keynote speech based around his lived experience of education, gang violence, substance misuse and recovery from addiction.[20]

During the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2023, Armstrong hosted James Kelman and spoke around difficulties in working-class representation, "cultural banishment" and Kelman's new work, 'God's Teeth and Other Phenomena'.[21]

Armstrong wrote and presented a three-part BBC Scotland documentary series, Street Gangs[22] [23] exploring current Scottish gang culture, including the recent impact of social media, drill music / roadman culture, and his lived experience as an ex-gang member, which aired in October 2023 and is featured on BBC iPlayer.[24] [25] [26]

Armstrong is an ambassador for The Hope Collective, a London-based anti-violence organisation, formed originally to support the 20th anniversary legacy campaign for Damilola Taylor.[27]

In June 2024, New College Lanarkshire inducted Armstrong as an honorary lecturer to celebrate the launch of their Undergraduate School in partnership with the University of the West of Scotland, offering the first degree level study in North Lanarkshire,[28] [29] alongside others including author and broadcaster Damian Barr, a fellow North Lanarkshire native.

Awards and honours

In April 2023, Granta included Armstrong on their "Best of Young British Novelists" list, an honour presented every ten years "to the twenty most significant British novelists under forty."

Awards for Armstrong's writing and broadcast media!Year!Title!Award!Cat!Result!Ref.
2021Betty Trask AwardBetty Trask Award
Scots Book of the Year—[30]
Saltire Society Literary AwardsScottish First Book of the Year[31]
Somerset Maugham Award—[32]
2022Scotland the RaveBAFTA ScotlandSingle Documentary[33]
RTS ScotlandDocumentary and Specialist Factual[34]
The Cloud FactoryGranta Best of Young British Novelists—[35] [36] [37]

Publication

Novels

Memoir

Short works

Translated

Filmography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Villalba . Juanjo . 21 December 2022 . Graeme Armstrong: 'Nostalgia has its place but there is a younger Scottish generation, their stories matter' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230129093919/https://english.elpais.com/culture/2022-12-21/graeme-armstrong-nostalgia-has-its-place-but-there-is-a-younger-scottish-generation-their-stories-matter.html . 29 January 2023 . 14 April 2023 . EL PAÍS English .
  2. Web site: 8 May 2020 . Betty Trask Prize . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221202234003/https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/betty-trask-prize-awards/ . 2 December 2022 . 14 April 2023 . .
  3. Web site: 8 May 2020 . Somerset Maugham Awards . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230413125200/https://www2.societyofauthors.org/prizes/the-soa-awards/somerset-maugham-awards/ . 13 April 2023 . 9 February 2023 . .
  4. Web site: Ravindran . Manori . 2021-04-19 . 'The Young Team,' Acclaimed Novel About Scotland Gang Culture, Gets TV Adaptation By Synchronicity Films (EXCLUSIVE) . 2023-05-27 . Variety .
  5. Web site: Schaub . Michael . 13 April 2023 . 'Granta' Names 20 Best Young British Novelists . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230414052711/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articles/granta-names-20-best-young-british-novelists/ . 14 April 2023 . 14 April 2023 . .
  6. News: Shaffi . Sarah . 13 April 2023 . Granta reveals its pick of future star British novelists . . live . 14 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230413095200/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/apr/13/granta-reveals-its-pick-of-future-star-british-novelists . 13 April 2023 . 0261-3077.
  7. Web site: Best of Young British Novelists 5 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230405014236/https://granta.com/best-of-young/ . 5 April 2023 . 14 April 2023 . .
  8. News: Preston . Alex . 22 February 2020 . Graeme Armstrong: 'When I stopped taking drugs, I felt a kind of loneliness' . . live . 14 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221128231142/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/22/graeme-armstrong-interview-the-young-team-airdrie-gangs . 28 November 2022 . 0261-3077.
  9. Web site: O'Neill . Christina . 19 May 2021 . Graeme Armstrong on The Young Team, leaving the gang life behind and his journey to literary success . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220817184836/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/graeme-armstrong-young-team-leaving-20624978 . 17 August 2022 . 14 April 2023 . GlasgowLive .
  10. https://news.stv.tv/feature/i-walked-into-uni-as-a-ned-and-left-with-a-masters 'I walked into uni as a ned and left with a Masters'
  11. Web site: Ex-gang member and Young Team author Graeme Armstrong on the lonely road to redemption . 7 March 2020 . 15 May 2023 . HeraldScotland .
  12. Web site: Graeme Armstrong . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221002122953/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/graeme-armstrong/27503 . 2 October 2022 . 14 April 2023 . .
  13. Web site: Graeme Armstrong – Standard English is oor Second Language. Literature Alliance Scotland. 24 May 2023.
  14. Web site: Two Strathclyders on once-a-decade Best Young British Novelists list . University of Strathclyde . 18 April 2023 . 15 May 2023 . www.strath.ac.uk.
  15. Web site: 2021-10-20 . Community justice exhibition opens at University of Stirling About . 2023-10-17 . University of Stirling . en.
  16. Web site: BBC Scotland . A brush with death led Callum to make a life changing decision. . 2023-10-17 . X (formerly Twitter) . en.
  17. Web site: School Leaders Scotland – Take a leap and join the leaders!. 24 May 2023.
  18. Web site: Graeme Armstrong . 15 May 2023 . Blake Friedmann .
  19. Web site: Graeme Armstrong — News . 15 May 2023 . Blake Friedmann .
  20. Web site: Why the Scottish Attainment Challenge requires even more collective action Tes . 1 September 2023 . www.tes.com .
  21. Web site: Watch online: James Kelman: Class Act . 1 September 2023 . www.edbookfest.co.uk .
  22. Web site: 26 September 2023 . BBC Scotland - Street Gangs, Series 1, Episode 1 . 4 October 2023 . BBC .
  23. Web site: 25 September 2023 . New BBC documentary on 'young team' culture to air next week . 26 September 2023 . Glasgow Times .
  24. Web site: 5 April 2023 . Writer who left life of violence behind to present BBC Scotland gang culture series . 15 May 2023 . The Scotsman .
  25. Web site: Tern TV - Home Page . 24 May 2023 . Tern.
  26. News: Wray . Daniel Dylan . 2023-10-16 . 'I've never been more dangerous than when I was 14': an ex-member of Scotland's teen gangs fights back . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-10-17 . 0261-3077.
  27. Web site: Ambassadors . 2023-12-28 . Hopecollective . en.
  28. Web site: 2024-06-10 . College and university partnership launches first joint undergraduate school . 2024-06-10 . The Herald . en.
  29. Web site: Undergraduate Degrees . 2024-06-10 . New College Lanarkshire . en.
  30. Web site: Top Scots tips from Scots Book o the Year 2021 winner Graeme Armstrong . 2023-09-01 . Scottish Book Trust .
  31. Web site: Scotland's National Book Awards 2021 Shortlists . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230315183748/https://www.saltiresociety.org.uk/scotlands-national-book-awards-2021-shortlists . 15 March 2023 . 14 April 2023 . The Saltire Society.
  32. Web site: Graeme Armstrong . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20211031225535/http://blakefriedmann.co.uk/graeme-armstrong . 31 October 2021 . 9 February 2023 . Blake Friedmann .
  33. Web site: 2022 Scotland Single Documentary BAFTA Awards . 2023-09-01 . awards.bafta.org.
  34. Web site: 31 October 2022 . RTS Scotland Awards 2022 Winners . 1 September 2023 . Royal Television Society .
  35. Web site: Graeme Armstrong . 15 May 2023 . Granta .
  36. Web site: Granta: Novelists list shows how much society has changed for better . 15 May 2023 . HeraldScotland . 20 April 2023. Teddy Jamieson .
  37. News: 13 April 2023 . Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list . BBC News . 15 May 2023.
  38. Web site: The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong . 24 May 2023 . www.panmacmillan.com.
  39. Web site: The Jakit, Mysticism n PPK Resurrection by Graeme Armstrong . 24 May 2023 . Scottish Book Trust.
  40. Web site: 27 April 2023 . The Cloud Factory . 24 May 2023.
  41. Web site: The Middle of a Sentence: Short Prose Anthology . 2023-06-18 . Books from Scotland.
  42. Web site: La gang . 24 May 2023 . Guanda . Italian.
  43. Web site: The Young Team | Automática Editorial . 24 May 2023 . automaticaeditorial.com . Spanish.

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