Jarred McGinnis

Jarred McGinnis
McGinnis in April 2020
McGinnis in April 2020
Born1976 or 1977 (age 48–49)
New Mexico
EducationUniversity of Texas at Austin
University of Edinburgh (PhD, 2006)
Notable worksThe Coward (2021)
Notable awardsPrix du Premier Roman Etranger (2022)
Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's Award (2023)
SpouseSarah McGinnis
Children2 daughters
Website
JarredMcGinnis.com

Jarred P. McGinnis (born 1976 or 1977) is an American-born writer based in France and the United Kingdom. In 2021, he was named as one of the best 10 emerging writers from the UK by The Guardian.[1]

Life and education

McGinnis grew up in Siesta Key, Florida, United States.[2] The day before his 21st birthday, while studying at the University of Texas at Austin, he had a car accident that caused a spinal cord injury, resulting in paraplegia and the loss of the use of his legs.[2][3]

Before the accident McGinnis wanted to study screenwriting,[4] but he turned to computer science when he realized the need for a job and health insurance due to his disability.[2] After graduating from the University of Texas, McGinnis enrolled for the PhD program at the University of Edinburgh, and worked under Professor Dave Robertson and earned his PhD in Computer Science on Artificial Intelligence.[2][5] His doctoral thesis was titled On the Mutability of Protocols.[5]

McGinnis is married to Sarah, who dropped out of college for a year to care for him after his accident. They both returned to the University of Texas to graduate, and then moved together to Edinburgh, then to London, then to Marseille, France. They have two daughters.[2]

Writing career

McGinnis's debut novel The Coward was published in 2021.[2][6][7] Its protagonist, also named Jarred McGinnis, loses the use of his legs in a car accident and is forced to move in with his estranged father.[2] Although The Coward shares details of the author's biography, and draws on his experiences,[8][9] McGinnis has said that he has "tried not to use the term auto-fiction",[6] preferring the term "livre vecu".[10]

The book was selected for BBC Two's Between The Covers[11] and BBC Radio 2's Book Club programs and was long-listed for the Barbellion Prize.[12] Translated into French by Marc Amfreville as Le Lâche,[13] it won the "foreign books" category of the Prix du Premier Roman (First Novel prize)[14] and was nominated for the prestigious Femina prize.[15]

In 2023, McGinnis was awarded an Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's Award for a forthcoming work for The Mountain Weight, which "mines his family’s history, from the American Civil War to the present day, to examine themes of masculinity, family and migration".[16]

The completed book, now titled There is No Meant to Be,[17] is published by Harvill Secker in March 2026.

Other activities

He is the co-founder of The Special Relationship, described as "the polymath of literary evenings", which was chosen for the British Council's International Literature Showcase.[18] He was the creative director for Moby-Dick Unabridged, a four-day immersive multimedia reading of Herman Melville's Moby-Dick at the Southbank Centre, involving hundreds of participants.[19][20]

Awards

McGinnis was awarded the 2023 Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's award for a forthcoming work for The Mountain Weight, the other winner being Ayanna Lloyd Banwo.[21]

His first novel's French edition won the foreign books category of the Prix du Premier Roman (First Novel prize).[14]

Selected publications

Books

Short stories

  • McGinnis, Jarred (2018). "Rough Beasts". In Oldfield, Simon (ed.). A Short Affair. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1471147326.
  • Charles III. Galley Beggar Press. 2016. ISBN 978-1-910296-70-7.[22]
  • Daughters Of The Revolution. Galley Beggar Press. 2016.[23]

Other writings

References

  1. ^ Miller, Kei (19 June 2021). "Kei Miller selects the UK's 10 best emerging writers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Kimel, Earle (19 April 2022). "Riverview graduate to discuss debut novel, 'The Coward,' Friday at BookStore1Sarasota". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  3. ^ USANews.net (10 April 2023). "The fragile relationship between father, son... and a wheelchair". USAnews.net. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Jarred McGinnis on blending fact & fiction in The Coward". National Centre for Writing | NCW. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  5. ^ a b McGinnis, Jarred P. (June 2006). "On the Mutability of Protocols". Informatics Thesis and Dissertation Collection.
  6. ^ a b "'Finishing this book laid to rest a lot of ghosts': Jarred McGinnis on writing The Coward". The Herald. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  7. ^ McGinnis, Jarred (16 July 2021). "Jarred McGinnis: 'You don't have to be disabled to write about disability, but you'd better get it right'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  8. ^ "Radio 2 Book Club - The Coward | News | RGfE". readinggroups.org. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  9. ^ Piotrowska, Alice (30 April 2021). "Scottish Debuts: The Coward by Jarred McGinnis". Scottish Books International. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  10. ^ Amfreville, Marc; Vallas, Sophie; McGinnis, Jarred (10 May 2023). "An Interview with Jarred McGinnis". Transatlantica. 1 (1). doi:10.4000/transatlantica.20955.
  11. ^ "Between The Covers". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 20 September 2023.[permanent dead link]
  12. ^ "Winners, Shortlists, & Longlists". The Barbellion Prize. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Le Lache (publisher's website)". Editions Métailié. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  14. ^ a b Carriera, Elodie (24 October 2022). "Maria Larrea et Jarred Mcginnis remportent le prix du Premier roman 2022". Livres Hebdo (in French). Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  15. ^ Contreras, Isabel (8 September 2022). "Le Femina révèle ses premières sélections 2022". Livres Hebdo (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Writer's Award 2023 goes to Ayanna Lloyd Banwo and Jarred McGinnis". Hay Festival. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Biography". Jarred McGinnis. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  18. ^ "What is the Special Relationship?". The Special Relationship. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  19. ^ Open Culture (21 March 2016). "Hear a Complete 24-Hour Reading of Moby-Dick, Recorded at the Southbank Centre in London (2015)". Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  20. ^ "Moby Dick Unabridged". The Special Relationship. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  21. ^ "The Eccles Centre & Hay Festival Writer's Award". British Library. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Charles III [publisher's website]". archive.galleybeggar.co.uk. Galley Beggar Press. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  23. ^ "Daughters Of The Revolution [publisher's website]". archive.galleybeggar.co.uk. Galley Beggar Press. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jarred_McGinnis