Owen Sheers
Encyclopedia
Owen Sheers is a Welsh
poet, author, playwright, actor and TV presenter.
, South Wales. He was educated at King Henry VIII comprehensive school, Abergavenny
, New College, Oxford
, and at the University of East Anglia
where he did an MA in Creative Writing.
The winner of an Eric Gregory Award
and the 1999 Vogue Young Writer’s Award, his first collection of poetry, The Blue Book (Seren, 2000) was short-listed for the Wales Book of the Year
and the Forward Poetry Prize
Best 1st Collection, 2001. His debut prose work The Dust Diaries (Faber 2004), a non-fiction narrative set in Zimbabwe
, was short-listed for the Royal Society of Literature
’s Ondaatje Prize
and won the Wales Book of the Year 2005.
In 2004 Owen was Writer in Residence at The Wordsworth Trust and was selected as one of the Poetry Book Society
’s 20 Next Generation Poets. Owen’s 2nd collection of poetry, Skirrid Hill (Seren, 2005) won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award
. 'Unicorns, almost' his one man play based on the life and poetry of the WWII poet Keith Douglas
was developed by Old Vic
, New Voices.
Owen’s first novel, Resistance
(UK Faber, 2007/ US Nan Talese/Doubleday 2008) has been translated into ten languages and was short listed for the Writer's Guild of Great Britain Best Book Award 2008 and won a 2008 Hospital Club Creative Award. The film of this novel, which Owen co-wrote, is due to go into production in Autumn 2010. In 2007 Owen collaborated with composer Rachel Portman
onThe Water Diviner’s Tale, an oratorio for children which was premiered at the Royal Albert Hall
for the BBC Proms. In 2007/8 Owen was a Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library
.
In 2009 Owen published the novella 'White Ravens', a contemporary response to the myth of Branwen Daughter of Llyr, written as part of Seren's series of 'New Stories from the Mabinogion. He also published an anthology of British landscape poetry to accompany his TV series of the same title, 'A Poet's Guide to Britain.
Owen has also written journalism and reportage for Granta, The Guardian, Esquire, GQ, The Times, The Financial Times, and a play for BBC Radio 4 about the WWII poet Alun Lewis, 'If I Should Go Away'.
In 2011, Owen wrote the script and novelisation of The Passion for National Theatre Wales
and WildWorks
.
He will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre
's 2011 project Sixty Six where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible
on stage and has presented arts programmes for BBC Wales
.
In 2009 he wrote and presented the BBC 4 series about poetry and the British landscape, A Poet's Guide to Britain.
He has also presented 'The Art of the Sea' for BBC 4 and several programmes for BBC Radio 3 and 4.
In 2008 he presented two episodes of BBC Radio 4's 'Open Book' programme.
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
poet, author, playwright, actor and TV presenter.
Biography
Owen Sheers was born in Suva, Fiji in 1974 and brought up in AbergavennyAbergavenny
Abergavenny , meaning Mouth of the River Gavenny, is a market town in Monmouthshire, Wales. It is located 15 miles west of Monmouth on the A40 and A465 roads, 6 miles from the English border. Originally the site of a Roman fort, Gobannium, it became a medieval walled town within the Welsh Marches...
, South Wales. He was educated at King Henry VIII comprehensive school, Abergavenny
King Henry VIII School Abergavenny
King Henry VIII School Abergavenny is a comprehensive school in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, South Wales.- History :The modern school was formed by the merger of a number of schools in the town including King Henry VIII Grammar School, which was founded in 1542...
, New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, and at the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
where he did an MA in Creative Writing.
The winner of an Eric Gregory Award
Eric Gregory Award
The Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
and the 1999 Vogue Young Writer’s Award, his first collection of poetry, The Blue Book (Seren, 2000) was short-listed for the Wales Book of the Year
Wales Book of the Year
The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...
and the Forward Poetry Prize
Forward Poetry Prize
The Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
Best 1st Collection, 2001. His debut prose work The Dust Diaries (Faber 2004), a non-fiction narrative set in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, was short-listed for the Royal Society of Literature
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
’s Ondaatje Prize
Ondaatje Prize
The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is given for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which evokes the "spirit of a place", and which is written by someone who is a citizen of or who has been...
and won the Wales Book of the Year 2005.
In 2004 Owen was Writer in Residence at The Wordsworth Trust and was selected as one of the Poetry Book Society
Poetry Book Society
The Poetry Book Society was founded by T. S. Eliot and friends in 1953. Each quarter the Society selects one recently published collection of poetry for its members. The Society also publishes the quarterly poetry journal Bulletin, and it administers the competition for the annual T. S. Eliot Prize...
’s 20 Next Generation Poets. Owen’s 2nd collection of poetry, Skirrid Hill (Seren, 2005) won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award
Somerset Maugham Award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
. 'Unicorns, almost' his one man play based on the life and poetry of the WWII poet Keith Douglas
Keith Douglas
Keith Castellain Douglas , was an English poet noted for his war poetry during World War II and his wry memoir of the Western Desert Campaign, Alamein to Zem Zem. He was killed during the invasion of Normandy.-Poetry:...
was developed by Old Vic
Old Vic
The Old Vic is a theatre located just south-east of Waterloo Station in London on the corner of The Cut and Waterloo Road. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, it was taken over by Emma Cons in 1880 when it was known formally as the Royal Victoria Hall. In 1898, a niece of Cons, Lilian...
, New Voices.
Owen’s first novel, Resistance
Resistance (Owen Sheers novel)
Resistance is a novel by Welsh poet and author Owen Sheers. The plot centres around the inhabitants of a valley near Abergavenny in Wales in 1944–45, shortly after the failure of Operation Overlord and a successful German counter-invasion of Britain , and a group of German Wehrmacht soldiers who...
(UK Faber, 2007/ US Nan Talese/Doubleday 2008) has been translated into ten languages and was short listed for the Writer's Guild of Great Britain Best Book Award 2008 and won a 2008 Hospital Club Creative Award. The film of this novel, which Owen co-wrote, is due to go into production in Autumn 2010. In 2007 Owen collaborated with composer Rachel Portman
Rachel Portman
Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman, OBE is a British composer, best known for her film work. She was the first female composer to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Score...
onThe Water Diviner’s Tale, an oratorio for children which was premiered at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
for the BBC Proms. In 2007/8 Owen was a Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Fellow at the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
In 2009 Owen published the novella 'White Ravens', a contemporary response to the myth of Branwen Daughter of Llyr, written as part of Seren's series of 'New Stories from the Mabinogion. He also published an anthology of British landscape poetry to accompany his TV series of the same title, 'A Poet's Guide to Britain.
Owen has also written journalism and reportage for Granta, The Guardian, Esquire, GQ, The Times, The Financial Times, and a play for BBC Radio 4 about the WWII poet Alun Lewis, 'If I Should Go Away'.
In 2011, Owen wrote the script and novelisation of The Passion for National Theatre Wales
National Theatre Wales
National Theatre Wales is the English language national theatre company in Wales. Focused on producing work in the English language, the company's opening programme of work included twelve shows in twelve months....
and WildWorks
Wildworks
Wildworks is an international site-specific theatre company based in Cornwall, England.They specialise in large-scale outdoor promenade performances.They were formed in 2005 by Bill Mitchell initially growing out of Kneehigh Theatre Company....
.
He will also be partaking in the Bush Theatre
Bush Theatre
The Bush Theatre is based in Shepherd's Bush, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. It was established in 1972 above The Bush public house by Brian McDermott, and has since become one of the most celebrated new writing theatres in the world. An intimate venue renowned for its close-up...
's 2011 project Sixty Six where he has written a piece based upon a chapter of the King James Bible
Actor & TV Presenter
He has played Wilfred OwenWilfred Owen
Wilfred Edward Salter Owen MC was an English poet and soldier, one of the leading poets of the First World War...
on stage and has presented arts programmes for BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
.
In 2009 he wrote and presented the BBC 4 series about poetry and the British landscape, A Poet's Guide to Britain.
He has also presented 'The Art of the Sea' for BBC 4 and several programmes for BBC Radio 3 and 4.
In 2008 he presented two episodes of BBC Radio 4's 'Open Book' programme.
Awards and honours
- 1999 Vogue Young Writer’s Award
- 1999 Eric Gregory AwardEric Gregory AwardThe Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....
- 2000 short-listed for the Wales Book of the YearWales Book of the YearThe Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...
(for The Blue Book) - 2001 short-listed for Forward Poetry PrizeForward Poetry PrizeThe Forward Poetry Prizes were created in 1991. The aim of the prizes is to extend the audience for contemporary poetry. Until the T.S. Eliot Prize remuneration was increased to £15,000 plus £1000 to each of nine runners-up, the Forward was the United Kingdom's most valuable annual poetry...
Best 1st Collection - 2005 Wales Book of the YearWales Book of the YearThe Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...
(for The Dust Diaries) - 2006 Somerset Maugham AwardSomerset Maugham AwardThe Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors. It is awarded to whom they judge to be the best writer or writers under the age of thirty-five of a book published in the past year. The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus...
(for Skirrid Hill) - 2008 Hospital Club Creative Award (for ResistanceResistance (Owen Sheers novel)Resistance is a novel by Welsh poet and author Owen Sheers. The plot centres around the inhabitants of a valley near Abergavenny in Wales in 1944–45, shortly after the failure of Operation Overlord and a successful German counter-invasion of Britain , and a group of German Wehrmacht soldiers who...
) - 2008 short-listed for Writers' Guild Best Book Award for Resistance
Works
- The Blue Book (2000)
- The Dust DiariesThe Dust DiariesThe Dust Diaries is an award-winning book by Owen Sheers, published in 2004.In this work, Sheers traces the travels of his great-great-uncle, Arthur Shearly Cripps. The book was named "Welsh Book of the Year 2005".-References:*...
(2004), a travel memoir through ZimbabweZimbabweZimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, following the life of his great great uncle Arthur Shearly CrippsArthur Shearly CrippsArthur Shearly Cripps was an English Anglican priest, short story writer, and poet who spent most of his life in Southern Rhodesia ....
(Welsh Book of the Year) - Skirrid Hill (2005) (Somerset Maugham Award)
- ResistanceResistance (Owen Sheers novel)Resistance is a novel by Welsh poet and author Owen Sheers. The plot centres around the inhabitants of a valley near Abergavenny in Wales in 1944–45, shortly after the failure of Operation Overlord and a successful German counter-invasion of Britain , and a group of German Wehrmacht soldiers who...
(2007), His first novel, published by Faber & Faber (Hospital Club Creative Award) - White Ravens (2009), The second novella in Seren Books' 'New Stories From The Mabinogion' series
- A Poet's Guide to Britain (2009) poetry anthology