Imogen Hermes Gowar is a British author. She published her debut novel The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock, winning a Betty Trask Award in 2019; it became shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction.

Imogen Hermes Gowar
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
CitizenshipUnited Kingdom
Alma materUniversity of East Anglia
GenreHistorical fiction
Notable worksThe Mermaid and Mrs Hancock (2018)
Notable awardsBetty Trask Award (2018)
Website
www.imogenhermesgowar.co.uk

Personal life and early career

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Gowar's great-grandmother was the engraver and sculptor Gertrude Hermes.[1]

Gowar studied archaeology, anthropology and art history at the University of East Anglia.[2] She then worked in museums, including in Visitor Services at the British Museum, while writing short fiction inspired by the exhibits.[2][1] She also worked as a barista in London prior to publishing her first book.[1]

Writing career

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In 2013, Gowar won the Malcolm Bradbury Memorial Scholarship to study for a master's degree in creative writing at the University of East Anglia.[1] Her dissertation developed into her debut novel The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock.[1] The novel won a Betty Trask Award in 2019 and was shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award in 2018.[3][4][5] It was also longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize in 2018.[6]

Gowar is currently writing her next book.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Brown, Helen (2018-01-24). "Imogen Hermes Gowar on mermaids, mummies and writing this year's must-read historical novel". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  2. ^ a b "The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock review: Historical fiction at its finest". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  3. ^ "Betty Trask Prize - The Society of Authors". 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  4. ^ Flood, Alison (2018-04-23). "Women's prize for fiction shortlist favours new voices over big hitters". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  5. ^ team, Code8; Pickard, Maddy (2018-11-23). "Imogen Hermes Gowar, shortlisted 2018". Young Writer of the Year Award. Retrieved 2024-04-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ a b locusmag (2018-03-23). "2018 Desmond Elliott Prize Longlist". Locus Online. Retrieved 2024-04-11.