Ben Myers
Benjamin Myers | |
---|---|
Born |
Durham, England | 10 January 1976
Occupation | Writer |
Alma mater | University of Bedfordshire |
Ben Myers or Benjamin Myers (born 1976, Durham) is an English writer and journalist.
His novel Beastings (2014) won the Portico Prize For Literature and the Northern Writers' Award. It was also longlisted for the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize.
Pig Iron (2012) was set in the traveller/gypsy community of the north-east of England and was the first to be published under his full name Benjamin Myers. It won the inaugural Gordon Burn Prize[1] and was longlisted for 3:AM Magazine.com's 'Novels of the Year'[2] and runner-up in The Guardian's 'Not The Booker Prize',[3] in the same year.
In 2014 Myers won the Society of Author's Tom-Gallon Prize,[4] for his short story, 'The Folk Song Singer'. His poem 'The Path To Pendle Hill' was selected by New Statesman as one of its Poems Of The Year 2015[5]
Myers' second novel, Richard: A Novel (2010) was a fictionalized account of the life of musician Richey Edwards. It was published by Picador in October 2010, and polarised critical opinion.
As a teenager Myers began writing reviews and interviews with bands for British weekly Melody Maker. In 1997 he became their staff writer. As of 2015 he has written about literature, music and the arts for a number of publications including New Statesman, Mojo, The Guardian, NME, BBC, New Scientist, Alternative Press, Kerrang!, Plan B, Arena, Bizarre, The Quietus, Vice, Shortlist, Caught by the River, Metal Hammer, The Morning Star, Classic Rock, 3:AM Magazine, Mineshaft and Time Out. In 2011 he published an article,[6] about his brief time as an intern at News of the World.
Myers has also published several poetry collections and written a number of music biographies which have been widely translated.
He is a founding member of the The Brutalists, a literary collective including authors Adelle Stripe and Tony O'Neill, and widely acknowledged as the first literary movement to be launched by social networking sites.
Bibliography
Fiction
Novels
- Turning Blue (Moth/Mayfly, 2016)
- Beastings (Bluemoose, 2014)
- Pig Iron[7] (Bluemoose, 2012)
- Richard: A Novel[8] (Picador, 2010)
- The Book of Fuck (Wrecking Ball Press, 2004)
Short fiction
- Snorri & Frosti[9] (Galley Beggar Press / 3:AM Press, 2013)
Poetry
- Heathcliff Adrift (New Writing North, 2014)
- Nowhere Fast (co-written with Tony O'Neill and Adelle Stripe (COI, 2008)
- Spam: Email Inspired Poems (Blackheath, 2008)
- I, Axl: An American Dream (online only, 2008–2009)
Non-fiction
- Muse : Inside the Muscle Museum (IMP 2004 and 2007)
- Green Day : American Idiots and the New Punk Explosion (IMP / Disinformation, 2005)
- John Lydon : The Sex Pistols, Pil and Anti-Celebrity (IMP 2005)
- System of a Down : Right Here in Hollywood (IMP / Disinformation, 2006)
- The Clash : Rock Retrospectives (2007, with Ray Lowry)
Essay collections
- American Heretics: Rebel Voices In Music (Codex, 2002)
References
- ↑ "Benjamin Myers wins Gordon Burn Prize". Newwritingnorth.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "3:AM Awards 2012: Longlist " 3:AM Magazine". 3ammagazine.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ Sam Jordison. "Not the Booker prize: The winner | Books". theguardian.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "Tom-Gallon Trust Award | Society of Authors – Protecting the rights and furthering the interests of authors". Society of Authors. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "New Statesman: Poems of the Year 2015".
- ↑ "MY TIME UNDERCOVER AT THE NEWS OF THE WORLD". Viceland.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "benjamin myers pig iron: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "Richard: Amazon.co.uk: Ben Myers: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
- ↑ "Snorri & Frosti by Ben Myers Ltd Edition Christmas paperback from 3AM Press – with added sparkles! – Galley Beggar Press". Galleybeggar.co.uk. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
External links
- Myers' website
- Myers' blog
- Ben Myers' Guardian articles and profile
- Captains Of Industry record label.
- Ben Myers' DrownedinSound articles and profile
- 3:AM magazine: Interview with Ben Myers, August 2004
- Caught in the Crossfire: Interview with Ben Myers
- Scarecrow: Interview with Ben Myers
- Ben Myers and The Brutalist poets, article in The Guardian, 2007
- Ben Myers interview with The Guardian