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Kirstin Innes

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Kirstin Innes
Innes in 2014
Innes in 2014
Born1980 (age 43–44)
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
OccupationNovelist, journalist
Alma materUniversity of Aberdeen
PartnerAlan Bissett
Children2

Kirstin Innes (born 1980) is a Scottish novelist and journalist.[1]

Early life

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Innes was born in Edinburgh in 1980, and raised by a single mother.[2] She attended James Gillespie's High School and then University of Aberdeen.[citation needed]

Career

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In 2005, Innes moved to Glasgow to work at The Arches. She also worked as Assistant Editor at The List.[3]

Innes's writing is influenced by her mother and grandmother's left-wing politics.[2]

Innes's debut novel, Fishnet (2019), won The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize in 2015[4] and was praised by The New York Times for its depiction of sex workers as "women with rich inner lives and interests".[5] Innes has written about how her friendship with the sex workers' rights activist Laura Lee influenced the novel.[6]

Her second novel, Scabby Queen, was published by 4th Estate in 2020. It was longlisted for the 2020 Gordon Burn Prize.[7]

In November 2021, Salmander Street published Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches , co-written by Innes and former The Arches colleague David Bratchpiece.[8][9]

Personal life

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Innes' partner is the author and playwright Alan Bissett, with whom she has two children.[1] The couple, who met in 2007, have discussed their experiences with IVF publicly with the aim of reducing the stigma around infertility.[10]

Bibliography

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Year Title Publisher ISBN Note
2019 Fishnet Scout Press ISBN 9781982116156
2020 Scabby Queen Fourth Estate ISBN 9780008342296
Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches Salamander Street To be published in 2021[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b Teddy Jamieson (18 July 2020). ""We generally prefer our celebrities to be either young and pretty or dead and voiceless." Kirstin Innes on pop, politics and her new novel Scabby Queen". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b McGinty, Stephen (19 July 2020). "Kirstin Innes's Scabby Queen focuses on fame and fortune of female celebrities". The Times. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  3. ^ "Talented north-east writers among literary highlights at May Festival". University of Aberdeen. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  4. ^ Jordison, Sam (12 October 2015). "Not the Booker prize 2015: Kirstin Innes wins with Fishnet – video". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  5. ^ Pochoda, Ivy (25 October 2019). "Cunning, Damaged and Deranged: The Latest Thrillers by Women". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  6. ^ Kirstin Innes (6 November 2019). "An Ode to Laura Lee". CrimeReads. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  7. ^ Laura Fraine (17 June 2020). "Longlist announced for Gordon Burn Prize 2020". New Writing North. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  8. ^ a b Tamsin Hackett (13 November 2020). "Salamander Street to publish history of 'iconic' Glasgow venue". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  9. ^ Shepherd, Fiona (9 November 2021). "Book review: Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches by David Bratchpiece & Kirstin Innes". The Scotsman.
  10. ^ Susan Swarbrick (11 February 2017). "Valentine's Day special: four couples share their stories of love, adversity and triumph". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 3 August 2020.