Michael Donkor Explained

Michael Donkor
Notableworks:Hold (2018)
Birth Place:London, England

Michael Donkor (born 1985) is a British author and English teacher based in London. He is represented by Blake Friedmann and Fourth Estate.

Early life and education

Donkor was born in London to a Ghanaian household.[1] He completed his bachelor's degree in English at Wadham College, Oxford, as well as a master's in Creative Writing at University of London.[2] At the University of Oxford he was one of only 21 black students in his year.[3] At the University of London he was supervised by Andrew Motion.

Career

In 2010 Donkor trained as an English teacher at the UCL Institute of Education, and began his teaching career at Esher College. He formerly taught at St Paul's Girls' School. He left his job there by 2022 to pursue a writing career in Lisbon, Portugal. In 2014 he was chosen by the National Centre for Writing for their mentoring programme, through which he met mentor Daniel Hahn and agent Juliet Pickering. He was described by HarperCollins as a "powerful new British literary voice". The Observer selected him as a New Face of Fiction in January 2018.[4] [5] He is inspired by Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Toni Morrison.

Hold

Fourth Estate gained publishing rights to Donkor's Hold, which was published in July 2018.[6] [7] [8] [9] It follows the stories of three teenage girls from Kumasi, Ghana, to Brixton, London, in 2002, and has been described as a coming-of-age novel.[10] Donkor chose to set Hold in 2002 as it marks the summer he was applying to study English at university. Hold was longlisted for the 2019 Dylan Thomas Prize.[11]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Michael Donkor. Blake Friedmann. en-GB. 2018-07-07.
  2. News: Michael Donkor – Poets' Corner Tutors. Poets' Corner Tutors. 2018-07-07. en-GB.
  3. Web site: 'My blackness seemed curious, difficult to handle': the day I ran away from Oxford University. Donkor. Michael. 7 July 2018. The Guardian. en. 2018-07-07.
  4. News: Meet the new faces of fiction for 2018 . 14 January 2018 . . en . 7 July 2018 . Lisa . O'Kelly . Arifa . Akbar . Claire . Armitstead . Claire Armitstead . Hannah . Beckerman . Hannah Beckerman . Alex . Clark . Alex Clark (journalist) . Kate . Kellaway . Kate Kellaway . Tim . Lewis . William . Skidelsky .
  5. Web site: Michael Donkor 'Ghanaians have a really silly and often quite absurd sense of humour' . Francesca. Pymm. . 23 April 2018. 2018-07-07.
  6. News: Brixton Rising: New Voices in Fiction, Brixton Library tonight, Weds 16th May, 7pm. 16 May 2018. Brixton Buzz news, features and listings for Brixton, London. 2018-07-07. en-US.
  7. Web site: Fourth Estate wins teacher's debut novel at auction . Heloise. Wood. The Bookseller . 26 July 2017. 2018-07-07.
  8. News: 2018: Most Anticipated Reads. The Book Banque. 2018-07-07. en-US.
  9. News: The Most Anticipated African Books To Read In 2018 – Nigeria Info. 12 January 2018. Nigeria Info. 2018-07-07. en-US.
  10. News: Hold by Michael Donkor – Hardcover . HarperCollins UK. 2018-07-07.
  11. News: Dylan Thomas prize: teacher and nurse among 'starburst' of young talent. Flood. Alison. 31 January 2019. The Guardian. 2019-02-04. en-GB. 0261-3077.