Nathan Filer
Nathan Filer | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer, Lecturer |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of the West of England |
| Notable works | The Shock of the Fall |
| Notable awards | Costa Book of the Year Betty Trask Prize |
 Literature portal | |
Nathan Filer is a British writer best known for his debut novel, The Shock of the Fall. This won several major literary awards, including the Costa Book of the Year[1] and the Betty Trask Prize.[2] It was a Sunday Times Bestseller,[3] and has been translated into thirty languages.[4]
Life and career
Filer was born in Bristol in 1980. He attended the Ridings High School, a large secondary school located in the village of Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire.[5] In 2002 he trained as a psychiatric nurse gaining a first-class degree in Mental Health Nursing from the University of the West of England[6] and later worked in mental health research at the University of Bristol.[7]
He also worked as a performance poet contributing regularly to festivals and spoken-word events across the UK, including Glastonbury, Latitude, Shambala, Port Eliot and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. His poetry has been broadcast on television and radio, including BBC Radio 4's Bespoken Word and Wondermentalist Cabaret.[8] In 2005 Filer's comedy short film Oedipus won the BBC Best New Filmmaker Award and numerous international prizes.[9]
The Shock of the Fall describes the life of a boy from Bristol dealing with his grief at the death of his brother, and experience of mental health care services for schizophrenia.[10][11][12] Reviewing the book in The Psychologist, Caroline Flurey writes, "This is a beautifully poignant book, written with sympathy and sensitivity, well deserving of its Costa Book of the Year award."[13]
Filer has written on a range of issues for The Guardian[14][15][16] and The New York Times.[17] He has been a panelist on the BBC Radio 2 Book Club, BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking and BBC Radio 4's Open Book, Front Row, All in the Mind and the Today Programme.[4]
In 2015 Filer was awarded the honorary degree of Master of Letters from the University of the West of England[18] and the honorary degree of Doctor of Liberal Arts from Abertay University.[19] These degrees were conferred in recognition of his role in raising awareness through literature and his commitment to mental health care.[18][19]
He is currently a lecturer in creative writing at Bath Spa University.[10]
Novels
- The Shock of the Fall (HarperFiction, 2013; The Borough Press, 2014)
Awards and honours
- 2005 BBC New Filmmaker Award winner for Oedipus[1][9]
- 2006 Literaturwerkstatt Berlin ZEBRA Poetry Film Festival winner for Oedipus[8]
- 2013 Costa Book Awards First Novel Award for The Shock of the Fall[1]
- 2013 Costa Book Awards Book of the Year for The Shock of the Fall[1]
- 2014 Betty Trask Prize winner for The Shock of the Fall[2]
- 2014 Specsavers National Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year for The Shock of the Fall[20]
- 2014 Writers' Guild of Great Britain (WGGB Awards) Best First Novel for The Shock of the Fall[21]
- 2015 Honorary Degree of Master of Letters from the University of the West of England[18]
- 2015 Honorary Doctorate of Liberal Arts from Abertay University[19]
References
- ^ a b c d "Nathan Filer wins Costa Book of the Year with debut novel". BBC News. 28 January 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ a b Lisa Campbell (30 June 2014). "Filer and McBride among SoA award winners". The Bookseller. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
- ^ "The Shock of the Fall". Conville & Walsh. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Who is this guy?". Nathan Filer website. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
- ^ MacCormick, Ken (29 January 2014). "Bristol author Nathan Filer wins Costa Book of the Year award". Bristol Post. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ "Nathan Filer alumnus profile". University of the West of England. 7 September 2015.
- ^ "Nathan Filer". Conville & Walsh. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Nathan Filer". Apples & Snakes. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
- ^ a b "Nathan Filer". National Book Awards. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ a b Brown, Mark (28 January 2014). "Costa book award won by Nathan Filer for debut novel, The Shock of the Fall". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ Clark, Nick (28 January 2014). "Costa Book of the Year: Debut novelist Nathan Filer is shock winner of prestigious prize". Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ Chilton, Martin (7 January 2014). "The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 January 2014.
- ^ Fluery, C. (2014), "Beautifully poignant", The Psychologist, Vol. 27, No. 6, June 2014, p. 460.
- ^ Nathan Filer (25 January 2014). "Mental Health Care: where did it all go so wrong?". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ Nathan Filer (31 July 2014). "Why you should ignore the superlatives on book jackets". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ Nathan Filer (7 February 2014). "My Hero: Malala Yousafzai". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ Nathan Filer (21 November 2014). "Rules of Engagement". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
- ^ a b c "UWE awards Honorary Degree to Nathan Filer". University of the West of England. 23 July 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ a b c "Award-winning author Nathan Filer to receive Honorary degree at Abertay". Abertay University. 25 November 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
- ^ "Bath Spa University Lecturer Nathan Filer recognised at the Specsavers National Book Awards 2014". Bath Chronicle. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
- ^ "Writers' Guild Awards: Winners Announced". Retrieved 21 January 2015.