Vote For the Greatest Living British Writer

Posted on March 3, 2006 by John DeNardo in Books // 6 Comments

The newly launched Book Magazine from the U.K. is running a poll through April 30th to determine the Greatest Living British Writer. The only genre authors included are Terry Pratchett and J.K. Rowling, but there is space to include your own choice.

With more and more award-nominated genre books coming from the U.K. it surprises me to see only two names there. No China Miéville? No Iain M. Banks or Ian MacDonald? Tsk tsk.

[via Andrew Wheeler]

Jon // March 3, 2006 at 2:17 pm //

Shouldn’t Doris Lessing be considered a genre writer?

Jon // March 3, 2006 at 2:23 pm //

Jon // March 3, 2006 at 2:28 pm //

oops.

John // March 3, 2006 at 3:12 pm //

Excellent catch! First time I’ve heard of her. According to the British Arts Council:

In the late 1970s and early 1980s Doris Lessing turned almost exclusively to writing fantasy and science fiction in the ‘Canopus in Argos’ series, developing ideas which she had touched on towards the end of ‘Children of Violence’ and in Briefing for a Descent into Hell. The first book in the series, Re: Colonised Planet 5, Shikasta, was published in 1979. The fourth, The Making of the Representative for Planet 8, was adapted by Philip Glass as an opera, with a libretto by the author.