Costa Book Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 45 (2015) Winner
Andrew Michael Hurley
アンドリュー・マイケル・ハーリー
Andoryū Maikeru Hārī
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1975-01-01 （Preston, Lancashire, England）
- Nationality
- British
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Preston (birthplace) → London (former residence) → Manchester (former residence) → Preston area (current residence)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short story writer, teacher, librarian, lecturer (creative writing)
- Active Years
- 2006-
- Affiliations
- Manchester Metropolitan University (lecturer)
- Influenced By
- J. R. R. Tolkien, British folk traditions and ghost-story tradition
- Influenced
- contemporary British folk-horror writers
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Costa Book Awards (First Novel) | The Loney | First Novel | Costa Book Awards | Won |
| 2015 | Waverton Good Read Award | The Loney | — | Waverton Good Read Award | Longlisted |
| 2016 | Authors' Club First Novel Award | The Loney | — | Authors' Club | Longlisted |
| 2016 | British Book Industry Awards (Book of the Year, Debut Fiction) | The Loney | Book of the Year / Debut Fiction | British Book Industry Awards | Won |
| 2018 | Encore Award | Devil's Day | — | Royal Society of Literature | Won |
Costa Book Awards (First Novel)
2015
Work:
The Loney
Category:
First Novel
Organization:
Costa Book Awards
Result:
Won
Waverton Good Read Award
2015
Work:
The Loney
Organization:
Waverton Good Read Award
Result:
Longlisted
Authors' Club First Novel Award
2016
Work:
The Loney
Organization:
Authors' Club
Result:
Longlisted
British Book Industry Awards (Book of the Year, Debut Fiction)
2016
Work:
The Loney
Category:
Book of the Year / Debut Fiction
Organization:
British Book Industry Awards
Result:
Won
Encore Award
2018
Work:
Devil's Day
Organization:
Royal Society of Literature
Result:
Won
Awards & Nominations
Encore Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 26 (2018) Winner
Works
Major Works
The Loney
2014 Gothic horror / folk horrorSet around Morecambe Bay in northwest England, the novel explores faith, belief, family history and local superstition in a dark, atmospheric tale. Hurley described it as a sort of dark version of the Nativity and drew on wild coastal landscapes.
faith and doubtlandscape and placefolkloreisolation and loss
Devil's Day
2017 Folk horrorSet in the Endlands (inspired by Langden valley in the Forest of Bowland), the novel deploys myth, ritual and landscape to chilling effect, drawing on folk-horror tropes.
ritual and traditionmemory of placethe darker side of community
Starve Acre
2019 Folk horror / family dramaFollows a couple grappling with the death of their child, combining an examination of grief with folkloric elements and rituals, framed within a folk-horror atmosphere.
loss and griefritual and folkloreguilt and redemption
Adaptations
- [Film] Starve Acre / Daniel Kokotajlo (2023)
Barrowbeck
2024 Short story collection / regional talesA collection of tales about the fictional village of Barrowbeck on the Yorkshire–Lancashire border spanning roughly 1,000 years, exploring local history and the interplay of people and place.
history of placeintergenerational tiesfolk tradition
Saltwash
2025 NovelDetails not yet widely available (published 2025).
Bibliography
- Cages and Other Stories (2006)
- The Unusual Death of Julie Christie and Other Stories (2008)
- The Loney (2014/2015)
- Devil's Day (2017)
- Starve Acre (2019)
- Barrowbeck (2024)
- Saltwash (2025)
- Short stories and contributions (various, 2006–2025)
Adaptations
- Film 'Starve Acre' (dir. Daniel Kokotajlo, 2023)
- BBC Radio 4 'Voices in the Valley' (2022, readings based on Barrowbeck)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- lyrical, atmospheric and brooding tonedetailed landscape-focused proseuse of folk-horror techniques (ritual, folklore, power of place)
- Recurring Motifs
- coastal sandsbogs and valleysrituals and festivitiesfaith and doubtisolated communities
Legacy
Andrew Michael Hurley is regarded as a significant voice in the contemporary revival of British folk-horror. His attention to landscape and folklore has earned critical acclaim and several literary awards.
Academic Societies
- Royal Society of Literature (award body)
In Popular Culture
- Film adaptation 'Starve Acre' (2023)
- BBC Radio 4 readings series 'Voices in the Valley' (2022)
Quotes
-
The novel's two starting points were 'to write a kind of dark version of the Nativity [...] and exploring ideas of faith and belief' and various wild, lonely places on the north west coast of Lancashire.
Source: The Guardian (Andrew Michael Hurley, 2016) (2016)
Trivia
- The Loney was originally published in a limited edition of 350 copies (2014) before wider release in 2015.
- Hurley previously worked as a teacher and a librarian.
- Since 2016 he has been a lecturer in creative writing (fiction) at Manchester Metropolitan University.
- The novel Starve Acre was adapted into a film starring Morfydd Clark and Matt Smith; it premiered at the BFI London Film Festival in 2023.