Dr Andrew Crumey

Biography

Following a PhD in theoretical physics and research on nonlinear dynamics at Leeds University, Andrew published his first novel Music, In A Foreign Language in 1994. It won the Saltire Society Prize for Best First Book and marked the beginning of a series of works exploring themes in real and imaginary history, which have been widely translated. He worked as a schoolteacher and freelance book reviewer and was literary editor of Scotland On Sunday (2000-06), then returned to academia as lecturer in creative writing at Newcastle University (2006-11) before joining Northumbria in November 2011. His sixth novel, Sputnik Caledonia (2008) won the Northern Rock Foundation Writers Award, was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Scottish Book of the Year, and was longlisted for the Arthur C Clarke Award. 

Teaching Interests

EL0501 “Studies in short fiction”
EL0731 “Writing and practice”
EL0732 “Writing portfolio”

Research Interests

In 2010 Andrew conducted an AHRC-funded practice-led research project, "Quantum Suicide: Walter Benjamin and the multiverse". In spring 2011, as Fellow of Durham University Institute of Advanced Study, he studied prophecy in literature and science. His current research is on musicality in literature, investigating the concept of the “symphonic novel”.

 Funding Awards

Arts Council Writer’s Award (2000)
Northern Rock Foundation Writer’s Award (2006)
AHRC practice-led grant (2010)
Durham Institute of Advanced Studies Fellowship (2011)

Affiliations and Memberships

Scottish Book Trust writing mentor

Publications

Novels:

Music, In A Foreign Language (Dedalus, 1994)
Pfitz (Dedalus, 1995)
D’Alembert’s Principle (Dedalus 1996)
Mr Mee (Picador, 2000)
Mobius Dick (Picador, 2004)
Sputnik Caledonia (Picador, 2008)

Short stories:

‘An Expedition To The Taiga’, in Magnetic North ed. Claire Malcolm (New Writing North, 2005)
‘Calculation Quest’, in Nature 437, p1206 (October 2005)
‘A Lesson for Carl’, in So, What Kept You? ed. Margaret Wilkinson (Flambard, 2006)
‘Livacy’, in New Writing 15 ed. Bernardine Evaristo, Maggie Gee (Granta, 2007)
‘Water of Life’, in the Sunday Herald (February, 2009)
‘The Last Midgie on Earth’, in Headshook, ed. Stuart Kelly (Hachette, 2009) 

Research articles:

‘Mathematics and literature,’ in Quarteroni, A. (ed.) MathKnow: Mathematics, Applied Science and Real Life (Springer, 2009)
‘Words and music’, conference proceedings ‘Scotland – SCOTTland’ (in press)
‘Teaching creative writing’, Review of Contemporary Fiction (in press)
‘Can novelists predict the future?’, Insights (in press)