Ian Holding

Last updated

Ian Holding (born Neal Hovelmeier; [1] 29 March 1978), is a Caucasian Zimbabwean writer. His first novel, Unfeeling was critically acclaimed on publication in the United Kingdom in 2005, and was one of the first fictional attempts dealing with the complex political and social situation in Zimbabwe, [2] in particular the country's controversial Land Reform Programme. According to South African commentator and academic, Michiel Heyns, "one of the achievements of this remarkable novel is to obtrude, without preaching or moralising, a much more thoughtful and critical assessment of power relations in Zimbabwe." [3] The novel was shortlisted for the 2006 Dylan Thomas Prize [4] and was named as "One of the Year's Best Books" by both Newsweek and The Globe & Mail.

Holding's second novel, Of Beasts and Beings (Simon & Schuster), an allegory on the nature of "white guilt" and colonialism was released in August 2010 and received favourable reviews for its blend of realism, postmodernism and metafictional techniques. The influential American writer Alice Sebold described the novel as "merciless, poetic and beautiful". The novel was released as one of the inaugural titles of a new imprint of the American publisher Europa Editions in November 2011.

His third novel, What Happened to Us, was published by Little Island Press in 2018. [5]

In addition to being a Hawthornden Fellow, Ian Holding frequently contributes articles and essays to prominent journals and newspapers and is also a short-story writer.

A native Harare, Zimbabwe, he fled the country after being outed as gay. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian McEwan</span> English novelist and screenwriter

Ian Russell McEwan is an English novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, The Times featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 in its list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendrik Willem van Loon</span> Dutch-American historian, journalist and author

Hendrik Willem van Loon was a Dutch-American historian, journalist, and children's book author.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regnery Publishing</span> Conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C

Regnery Publishing is a politically conservative book publisher based in Washington, D.C. The company was founded by Henry Regnery in 1947, and is now a division of radio broadcaster Salem Media Group. It is led by President & Publisher Thomas Spence. Regnery has published books by former Republican Party chairman Haley Barbour, Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Newt Gingrich, columnist Michelle Malkin, Robert Spencer, pundit David Horowitz, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and his family, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, and Barbara Olson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tsitsi Dangarembga</span> Zimbabwean author and filmmaker

Tsitsi Dangarembga is a Zimbabwean novelist, playwright and filmmaker. Her debut novel, Nervous Conditions (1988), which was the first to be published in English by a Black woman from Zimbabwe, was named by the BBC in 2018 as one of the top 100 books that have shaped the world. She has won other literary honours, including the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the PEN Pinter Prize. In 2020, her novel This Mournable Body was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2022, Dangarembga was convicted in a Zimbabwe court of inciting public violence, by displaying, on a public road, a placard asking for reform.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Winslow</span> American writer

Don Winslow is an American retired author best known for his award-winning and internationally bestselling crime novels, including Savages, The Force and the Cartel Trilogy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Schur</span> American television producer and writer

Michael Herbert Schur is an American television producer, writer, director and actor. He was a producer and writer for the comedy series The Office, and co-created Parks and Recreation with Office producer Greg Daniels. He created The Good Place, co-created the comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and was a producer on the series Master of None. He also played Mose Schrute on The Office. In 2021, he was one of three co-creators of the Peacock comedy series Rutherford Falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Maberry</span> American author (born 1958)

Jonathan Maberry is an American suspense author, anthology editor, comic book writer, magazine feature writer, playwright, content creator and writing teacher/lecturer. He was named one of the Today's Top Ten Horror Writers.

The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published writers in the English language under the age of forty. The prize was originally awarded biennially, but became an annual award in 2010. Entries for the prize are submitted by the publisher, editor, or agent; for theatre plays and screenplays, by the producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonya Sones</span> American poet and author

Sonya Sones is an American poet and author. She has written seven young adult novels in verse and one novel in verse for adults. The American Library Association (ALA) has named her one of the most frequently challenged authors of the 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Yu</span> American writer

Charles Chowkai Yu is an American writer. He is the author of the novels How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and Interior Chinatown, as well as the short-story collections Third Class Superhero and Sorry Please Thank You. In 2007 he was named a "5 under 35" honoree by the National Book Foundation. In 2020, Interior Chinatown won the National Book Award for fiction.

<i>River of Gods</i> 2004 novel by Ian McDonald

River of Gods is a 2004 science fiction novel by British writer Ian McDonald. It depicts a futuristic India in 2047, a century after its independence from Britain, characterized both by ancient traditions and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligences, robots and nanotechnology. The novel won the British Science Fiction Award in 2004 and was nominated for a Hugo. It was followed by a short story collection called Cyberabad Days in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watching the River Flow</span> Song by Bob Dylan

"Watching the River Flow" is a blues rock song by American singer Bob Dylan. Produced by Leon Russell, it was written and recorded during a session in March 1971 at the Blue Rock Studio in New York City. The collaboration with Russell formed in part through Dylan's desire for a new sound—after a period of immersion in country rock music—and for a change from his previous producer.

Eric Weiner is a popular speaker and author of the New York Times bestseller The Geography of Bliss, Man Seeks God,The Geography of Genius and The Socrates Express. Weiner's books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He is a former foreign correspondent for NPR and the author of numerous articles about travel and culture. He spent a decade overseas for NPR, based in New Delhi, Jerusalem and Tokyo

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nadifa Mohamed</span> Somali-British novelist (born 1981)

Nadifa Mohamed is a Somali-British novelist. She featured on Granta magazine's list "Best of Young British Novelists" in 2013, and in 2014 on the Africa39 list of writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define future trends in African literature. Her 2021 novel, The Fortune Men, was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, making her the first British Somali novelist to get this honour. She has also written short stories, essays, memoirs and articles in outlets including The Guardian, and contributed poetry to the anthology New Daughters of Africa. She was also a lecturer in Creative Writing in the Department of English at Royal Holloway, University of London until 2021. She will be Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University in Spring 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prajwal Parajuly</span> Indian author of Nepalese descent

Prajwal Parajuly is an Indian writer whose works focus on Nepali-speaking people and their culture. Parajuly's works include the short-story collection The Gurkha's Daughter and novel Land Where I Flee.

Ian Peter Marchant is an English writer, broadcaster and performer born in Guildford, England. He is best known for his non-fiction—mainly travel writing and memoir—but he has also written two novels and several other books, as well as short stories and newspaper articles. He has made programmes for BBC Radio and for UK regional television. Marchant is a Lecturer in Creative Writing in the School of English at Birmingham City University.

Monique Roffey is a Trinidadian-born British writer and memoirist. Her novels have been much acclaimed, winning awards including the 2013 OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, for Archipelago, and the Costa Book of the Year award, for The Mermaid of Black Conch in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Vaye Watkins</span> American author and academic (born 1984)

Claire Vaye Watkins is an American author and academic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viet Thanh Nguyen</span> Vietnamese-American writer

Viet Thanh Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American professor and novelist. He is the Aerol Arnold Chair of English and Professor of English and American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California.

<i>The Philosophy of Modern Song</i> 2022 book by Bob Dylan

The Philosophy of Modern Song is a book by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, published on November 1, 2022, by Simon & Schuster. The book contains Dylan's commentary on 66 songs by other artists. It is the first book Dylan has published since he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

References

  1. "Neal Hovelmeier". Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. "Observer review: Unfeeling by Ian Holding". TheGuardian.com . 7 August 2005.
  3. http://www.michielheyns.co.za/documents/Unfeeling.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. "Dylan Thomas Prize - Shortlist 2006". Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  5. "What Happened To Us". Goodreads. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  6. Writer, Colleen Walsh Harvard Staff (27 January 2020). "Outed educator and novelist Hovelmeier flees Zimbabwe". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 30 January 2023.