Julia Armfield

Julia Armfield
Born1990 (age 33–34)[1]
Cobham, Surrey
Occupation
  • Writer
NationalityBritish
EducationRoyal Holloway, University of London
Genre
Years active2019 – present
Notable works
Notable awardsPolari Prize (2023)

Julia Armfield is an English author. She has published a collection of short stories, Salt Slow (2019), and two novels, Our Wives Under the Sea (2022), and Private Rites (2024).[2][3][4][5][6]

Early life

Armfield grew up in Cobham, Surrey.[7]

Work

In an interview with Sam Manzella of Them, Armfield said that her debut novel was in part inspired by a wish to explore the "crossover with queer women’s fiction and the sea," adding that the ocean is often used to symbolise both "something forbidden" and something that "can be many things at once."[8] In an interview with Sam Franzini of Our Culture Mag, she stated that the novel was in part "about an anticipation of grief and losing someone," adding that part of the horror was from "the clanging bureaucracy of not being able to get an answer."[9]

Our Wives Under the Sea was nominated for the Foyles Fiction Book of the Year Award and Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, winning the Polari Prize in 2023.[10]

Awards

Year Title Award Category Result Ref
2022 Our Wives Under the Sea Goodreads Choice Awards Debut Nominated
Fiction Nominated
2023 Foyles Fiction Book of the Year Award Nominated
Kitschies Debut ("Golden Tentacle") Shortlisted
Lambda Literary Award Lesbian Fiction Shortlisted
Polari Prize Won

Bibliography

Short story collections

  • —— (2019). Salt Slow (1st hardcover ed.). Picador. ISBN 9781529012569.

Novels

References

  1. ^ "A Chat With: Julia Armfield". Nota Bene Prize. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Julia Armfield recommends 6 books that charm, excite and surprise". Yahoo!. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  3. ^ Wyver, Kate (1 March 2022). "Our Wives Under the Sea author Julia Armfield: 'Horror and romance spring from the same core'". Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  4. ^ Braidwood, Ella (3 February 2023). "'Like moving through water while everyone is on land': the writers exploring sexuality through sea life". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  5. ^ Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy (30 May 2019). "Julia Armfield: 'There's freedom in the monster being the norm'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  6. ^ Feigel, Lara (20 June 2024). "Private Rites by Julia Armfield review – in deep water". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  7. ^ Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy (30 May 2019). "Julia Armfield: 'There's freedom in the monster being the norm'". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  8. ^ Manzella, Sam (12 July 2022). "Read Me: This Eerie Gothic Novel Is Dripping With Lesbian Drama". Them. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  9. ^ Franzini, Sam (26 June 2022). "Author Spotlight: Julia Armfield, Our Wives Under the Sea". Our Culture Mag. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
  10. ^ Creamer, Ella (24 November 2023). "Julia Armfield and Jon Ransom win the Polari prizes for LGBTQ+ books". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 November 2023.