Julia Armfield Explained

Julia Armfield
Birth Date:[1]
Birth Place:Cobham, Surrey
Nationality:British
Education:Royal Holloway, University of London
Years Active:2019 – present
Awards:Polari Prize (2023)

Julia Armfield is an English author. She has published a collection of short stories, Salt Slow (2019), and two novels, Our Wives Under the Sea (2022), and Private Rites (2024).[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Work

In an interview with Sam Manzella of Them, Armfield said that her debut novel was in part inspired by a wish to explore the "crossover with queer women’s fiction and the sea," adding that the ocean is often used to symbolise both "something forbidden" and something that "can be many things at once."[7] In an interview with Sam Franzini of Our Culture Mag, she stated that the novel was in part "about an anticipation of grief and losing someone," adding that part of the horror was from "the clanging bureaucracy of not being able to get an answer."[8]

Our Wives Under the Sea was nominated for the Foyles Fiction Book of the Year Award and Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, winning the Polari Prize in 2023.[9]

Awards

YearTitleAwardCategoryResult
2022Our Wives Under the Sea Goodreads Choice AwardsDebut
Fiction
2023Foyles Fiction Book of the Year Award
KitschiesDebut ("Golden Tentacle")
Lesbian Fiction
Polari Prize

Bibliography

Short story collections

Novels

References

  1. Web site: A Chat With: Julia Armfield. Nota Bene Prize. 19 February 2024.
  2. Web site: Julia Armfield recommends 6 books that charm, excite and surprise. Yahoo!. 17 July 2023. 13 October 2023.
  3. News: Our Wives Under the Sea author Julia Armfield: 'Horror and romance spring from the same core'. Kate. Wyver. 1 March 2022. 13 October 2023. Independent.
  4. News: 'Like moving through water while everyone is on land': the writers exploring sexuality through sea life. Ella. Braidwood. 3 February 2023. 13 October 2023. The Guardian.
  5. News: Julia Armfield: 'There's freedom in the monster being the norm'. Rhiannon Lucy. Cosslett. 30 May 2019. 13 October 2023. The Guardian.
  6. News: Feigel . Lara . 2024-06-20 . Private Rites by Julia Armfield review – in deep water . 2024-06-27 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  7. Web site: 12 July 2022. Read Me: This Eerie Gothic Novel Is Dripping With Lesbian Drama. Manzella. Sam. 13 October 2023. Them.
  8. Web site: Author Spotlight: Julia Armfield, Our Wives Under the Sea. Sam. Franzini. June 26, 2022. Our Culture Mag. 13 October 2023.
  9. News: Creamer . Ella . 2023-11-24 . Julia Armfield and Jon Ransom win the Polari prizes for LGBTQ+ books . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-11-25 . 0261-3077.