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Attended Hymers College:
1972 - 1982
What makes this nominee inspiring?
Ian is a writer and academic. He is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester and the author of three novels. His second novel, The North Water, was adapted for TV and was a big success on BBC2 starring Colin Farrell and Jack O’Connell. The North Water won the Royal Society of Literature’s Encore Award, was long-listed for the Man Booker prize and was one of the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2016. Ian’s first paid piece of writing was a poem for his school magazine about a motorcycle accident which, he admits, was strongly influenced by the Shangri-Las’ classic “Leader of the Pack.” He was 13 and was paid 50 pence and a Mars bar for it.
