Michael Stewart (British writer, born 1971) explained

Michael Stewart (born 1971)[1] is an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and playwright. Born and brought up in Salford, he now lives in Bradford. He is currently course leader in Creative Writing at Huddersfield University,[2] editorial manager of Grist Books which he founded,[3] and co-director of the Brontë Centre for Writing and Research in Haworth.[4] He was director of the Huddersfield Literature Festival from 2008 to 2012.

Early life and education

Stewart was born in Salford and attended "a failing comprehensive that also 'educated' most of the Happy Mondays", which was demolished soon after he left it. He started work, aged 16, in a factory in Newton Heath, and borrowed books from his local public library to read on his bus journey to and from there. He read Wuthering Heights, having earlier seen the 1939 film, and writes: "Slowly the story and characters drew me in. Somehow they took hold of me and wouldn't let go."[5] He moved to Yorkshire in 1995.[6] He has a PhD from the University of Huddersfield (2015), his doctoral thesis being "Rebooting the lyrical story : structure, viewpoint and aspects of realism in short fiction".[7]

Career

In October 2011, Stewart's debut novel, King Crow (2011) was awarded the Not the Booker Prize by The Guardian newspaper and described as a 'literary sensation'.[8] It follows teenager Paul Cooper's obsession with birds. To escape a troubled home life, Paul compares the people he knows with different species of birds, but he embarks upon a chaotic journey of self-discovery when he befriends a dangerous raven named Ashley. King Crow was selected as a recommended read for World Book Night in April 2012.[9]

Stewart's first short story collection, Mr Jolly, (Valley Press), was published in 2016. Rupert Dastur praised the collection's "cheeky intellectualism, raves and rants, quiet solitude, and humour" and noted that its "major accomplishments involve the extraordinary spread of topics, styles, and characters".[10]

Stewart has won several awards for his scriptwriting, including the BBC Alfred Bradley Bursary Award and the King's Cross Award for New Writing. His short fiction has been published in Tears in the Fence, Brand, Riptide, The Reader, and many other places.

Stewart is also the creator of The Brontë Stones project, four monumental stones situated in the landscape between the Brontë birthplace in Thornton and the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, inscribed with specially commissioned poems written by Kate Bush, Carol Ann Duffy, Jeanette Winterson, and Jackie Kay. The project was supported by the Bradford Literature Festival and funded by the Arts Council England. The stones are accompanied by four walking trails devised by Stewart in and across the landscape between Thornton and Haworth. They are accompanied by specially commissioned maps, designed and drawn by cartographer, Chris Goddard.[11]

The Brontë Stones is part of Stewart's wider portfolio of literary and cultural projects connected to the Brontës. His novel, Ill Will (2018), published by HarperCollins, responds to Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights , telling the story of Heathcliff missing years. His hybrid memoir, Walking the Invisible: Following in the Brontës' Footsteps (2021), follows the Brontës across Northern England and investigates the geographical and social features that shaped their work. It was praised in The Guardian as 'a terrific tribute to the Brontës – and to the landscape that shaped their literature', demonstrating 'how landscape grows in the imagination and lays bare the "invisible" world of the heart and mind'.[12] The chapter on Anne Brontë's last three days in Scarborough was published separately in a limited edition with the title Boiled Milk.[5] In 2020, Stewart was instrumental in obtaining and installing the blue heritage plaque now visible at the Brontë Birthplace in Thornton, which was commissioned by the then owners in association with Bradford Civic Society, along with financial support from locally based supermarket chain Morrisons. The blue plaque was part of Stewart's efforts to bring the Brontë birthplace 'to people's attention and connect it to Haworth'.[13]

Stewart's 2023 poetry collection, The Dogs, was published by Smokestack Books. It touches upon the origin myths of dogs, how they have been viewed by different societies through the centuries and how man co-opted dogs into everyday life. It also looks at the effects of genetic changes on dogs through breeding and imagines a future world where dogs have learned to speak and are demanding better treatment from humans. The Dogs includes illustrations by artist Louis Benoit. The Dogs became an exhibition at Artworks, The Everybody Gallery, Halifax, in the summer of 2023. The exhibition also included sculptures by Moira Benoit and a 3D Soundscape by musicians, Dr  Hyunkook Lee and Katia Sochaczewska.[14]

Stewart's television contributions include Britain's Novel Landscapes for Channel 4, Our Great Yorkshire Life for Channel 5, BBC Breakfast, and Countryfile on BBC One.

Selected publications

Novels

Short fiction collections

Poetry collections

Radio drama

Theatre

Non-fiction

As editor

Short fiction

Screen Work

Stewart has also written for screen. His credits include Just a job and A Black Sheep in the White Swan for Voltage Film (2022), A Few Circles in the Waters for ChalkManVideo (2012), The Reading Room for Screen Yorkshire (2006), and Emmerdale for Yorkshire Television (2003–2004).

Awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: King Crow [catalogue record] ]. British Library . 15 May 2024.
  2. Web site: English literature and creative writing: staff . University of Huddersfield . 14 May 2024 .
    Web site: Creative writing . University of Huddersfield . 14 May 2024 .
  3. Web site: Grist – Contact . mhm.hud.ac.uk . 14 May 2024.
  4. Web site: About . Brontë centre for writing and research . 14 May 2024 . 13 May 2016.
  5. Book: Stewart . Michael . Boiled Milk . 2020 . University of Huddersfield Press . 978-1-86218-181-6 . 16 May 2024 . Introduction: Brontë Fever.
  6. Web site: About . Michael Stewart . 16 May 2024.
  7. Web site: Catalogue record for "Rebooting the lyrical story..." . JISC Library Hub . 16 May 2024.
  8. Web site: Jordison . Sam . 26 September 2011 . Not the Booker prize 2011: King Crow by Michael Stewart . 4 May 2024 . The Guardian.
  9. News: Carter . Helen . The north embraces World Book Night . 16 May 2024 . The Guardian . 23 April 2012.
  10. Web site: Dastur . Rupert . 23 May 2016 . The Short Story Review: 'Mr Jolly' by Michael Stewart . 4 May 2024 . TSS Publishing.
  11. News: Thorpe . Vanessa . Out on the wiley, windy moors, Kate Bush sings new praises to Emily Brontë . 16 May 2024 . The Observer . 8 July 2018.
  12. News: Sethi . Anita . 15 July 2021 . Review: Walking the Invisible by Michael Stewart review – following in the Brontës' footsteps . live . 4 May 2024 . The Guardian.
  13. Book: Stewart, Michael . Walking the Invisible . HarperCollins . 2021 . 9780008430207 . London . July 2021 . 4 .
  14. Web site: The Dogs Exhibition -Michael Stewart . Visit Calderdale . 16 May 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230930134319/https://www.visitcalderdale.com/event/the-dogs-exhibition-michael-stewart/ . 30 September 2023 . live.
  15. News: Rochdale to celebrate World Book Night. 13 April 2015. Rochdale Online. 21 May 2024.
  16. News: The Godfather to be screened at Thornton Community Centre. 14 February 2019. The Telegraph & Argus. 21 May 2024.

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