Candice Carty-Williams

Candice Carty-Williams (born 21 July 1989)[1] is a British writer, best known for her 2019 debut novel, Queenie.[2] She has written for publications including The Guardian, i-D, Vogue, The Sunday Times, BEAT Magazine, and Black Ballad,[3] and is a contributor to the anthology New Daughters of Africa (2019), edited by Margaret Busby.[4]

Candice Carty-Williams
Born21 July 1989
London, England
Alma materUniversity of Sussex
OccupationNovelist, journalist, columnist
Notable work
Queenie (2019)
Awards2019 Blackwell's Debut Author of the Year
Book of the Year (Queenie)
Websitewww.candicecartywilliams.com/index.html

At the British Book Awards in June 2020 Carty-Williams became the first black woman to win the "Book of the Year" accolade, for her novel Queenie.[5]

Biography

Early life and education

Candice Carty-Williams was born in St Thomas' Hospital, Westminster, and grew up in South London, living at various times in Croydon,[6] Clapham, Streatham, Ladywell and Lewisham.[2] Her mother is of Jamaican-Indian heritage and her Jamaican father had come to Britain at the age of 16 and worked as a cab driver. Carty-Williams has said of her parents: "Neither of them are readers, though my dad does have thousands of records, which is maybe where I get my love of collecting things (in this case, books) from. My grandparents were all born in Jamaica, as were my great-grandparents with the exception of my grandad, who was born in India."[7]

She has said: "Growing up I never felt I could write.... Writing is something I came to really late and I guess I’m still finding my confidence because I never thought it was an attainable career."[6] She studied for a degree in communication and media studies at the University of Sussex, after which she decided to try to enter the publishing industry.[6]

Publishing career

Internships with Melville House, 4th Estate and William Collins[8] led to her being employed in 2014 as marketing assistant at the HarperCollins imprint 4th Estate, with promotion to marketing executive in 2015.[9] While in this job she became aware of the underrepresentation of BAME authors and writers in publishing, so she created the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, which aimed to offer assistance towards publishing or literary agent representation.[2]

In September 2016 she joined Vintage, where she was senior marketing executive and was also a mentor on the Penguin Books "Write Now" scheme,[10] eventually leaving the imprint in May 2019.[9]

Queenie
Main article: Queenie (novel)

In 2017, her first novel, Queenie, was the subject of an auction between four publishers and was eventually acquired for a six-figure sum by Orion.[11] Published in 2019, the novel is about the "life and loves of Queenie Jenkins, a vibrant, troubled 25-year-old Jamaican Brit who is not having a very good year"',[12] and although it was marketed as "a black Bridget Jones",[13][14][15] Carty-Williams herself said in an interview in Stylist magazine: "That's how I thought of her in the beginning, too. But this book is also naturally political just because of who Queenie is. She's not Bridget Jones. She could never be."[16] Speaking on CBS Local, Carty-Williams further explained: "It's such a personal story, but it is one that is universal as well....It's not autobiographical, but it’s themes that I've borrowed from my life and my friends' lives."[17] Queenie received much positive critical attention,[18] described by reviewers as both a "smart and breezy comic debut"[19] and "astutely political, an essential commentary on everyday racism."[20]

Other writing

Carty-Williams has written for publications including The Guardian,[21] i-D,[22] Vogue, The Sunday Times, Refinery29, BEAT Magazine, and Black Ballad, and contributed an essay to the anthology New Daughters of Africa (2019), edited by Margaret Busby.[4][23]

It was announced on 7 January 2020 that Carty-Williams had been appointed the new weekly books columnist of The Guardian,[24][25] with her first piece for the newspaper in this role appearing on 11 January and her columns continuing throughout 2020.[26][27] She announced in her column of 2 January 2021 that it would be her last, explaining: "I remember when I first met my editors to discuss this column; we were all so excited about what 2020 would bring and what I'd write about. Then, as we all know, the year went … sideways and this column effectively became dispatches from lockdown. ... I have loved every word I've written; but with my second novel, People Person, coming out in 2021, I'll be chained to my desk (my bed/my sofa/the chair in my room I sit on when I need to think about things) with very little time to keep an eye on what's happening in the literary world."[28]

She is a contributor to Dear NHS, edited by Adam Kay, a 2020 anthology of personal stories from famous people about how they have been helped by the National Health Service.[29][30]

References
  1. Sturges, Fiona (30 March 2019). "Interview: Candice Carty-Williams: 'You get accustomed to men saying, "You're pretty for a black girl"'". The Guardian.
  2. "Who is author Candice Carty-Williams?". Southbank Centre Blog. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  3. "Candice Carty-Wiilliams". Official website.
  4. "Margaret Busby on New Daughters of Africa, sponsorship of women's football". Woman's Hour. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  5. Sherwin, Adam (29 June 2020). "Candice Carty-Williams named first black female Book of the Year winner for Queenie". i.
  6. Williams, Luke G. (20 May 2019). "Queen of the south". The Lewisham Ledger.
  7. Bennett, Sam (2019). "Candice Carty-Williams". Ox Magazine. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  8. "Profile - Candice Carty-Williams". BAME in Publishing. 3 July 2017.
  9. Wood, Heloise (13 June 2019). "Candice Carty-Williams leaves Vintage". The Bookseller.
  10. Apostolides, Zoë. "Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams — racial prejudice in contemporary London". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  11. Cowdrey, Katherine (29 September 2017). "Carty-Williams' debut Queenie lands six-figure deal". The Bookseller.
  12. "Queenie". Kirkus Reviews. 12 November 2018.
  13. Hirsch, Afua (19 March 2019). "Don't Call Queenie a 'Black Bridget Jones.' This Book Is So Much More". Time.
  14. Evans, Diana (12 April 2020). "Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams review – timely and important". The Guardian.
  15. Butter, Susannah (25 April 2019). "Candice Carty-Williams: it's high time black women had a voice". Evening Standard.
  16. Keegan, Hannah (3 April 2019). "Candice Carty Williams explains why Queenie will never be a 'black Bridget Jones'". Stylist.
  17. "'Getting This Out Was Catharsis': Author Candice Carty-Williams On Book 'Queenie'", CBS Local, 25 November 2019.
  18. Lloyd, Rachel (17 May 2019), "All you need to know about “Queenie” by Candice Carty-Williams", 1843.
  19. Cummins, Anthony (16 April 2019), "Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams review – a smart and breezy debut", The Observer.
  20. Malicka, Philly (17 July 2919), "Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, review: ‘An essential commentary on everyday racism'", The Telegraph.
  21. Candice Carty-Williams at The Guardian.
  22. Candice Carty-Williams at i-D.
  23. Richardson, Hollie (12 June 2019). "Exclusive: Candice Carty-Williams on writing Queenie for the screen, working with Zadie Smith and dealing with burnout". Stylist.
  24. GNM Press Office (7 January 2020). "Candice Carty-Williams to become the Guardian's new books columnist". The Guardian.
  25. Chandler, Mark (7 January 2020). "Carty-Williams joins Guardian Review as columnist". The Bookseller.
  26. Carty-Williams, Candice (11 January 2020). "My New Year reading resolution? Less guilt for giving up on books". The Guardian.
  27. "Candice Carty-Williams". The Guardian.
  28. Carty-Williams, Candice (2 January 2021). "It's going to be hard work – but there's so much to look forward to in 2021". The Guardian.
  29. Butter, Susannah (15 July 2020). "Candice Carty-Williams: 'I see it all the time, it hurts all the time'". Evening Standard.
  30. Levine, Nick (18 April 2020). "Celebrities Say Thank You To The NHS In A Moving New Charity Book". Refinery29.
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