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Elizabeth Day

えりざべす・でい

Erizabesu Dei

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1978-11-10 （England）
Nationality
British
Languages
English
Residence History
England → Northern Ireland

Career

Occupations
novelist, journalist, broadcaster, podcast host
Active Years
2000-2024
Affiliations
The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, Pin Drop Studio
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature

Education

Methodist College Belfast
Country: United Kingdom
Malvern St James
Country: United Kingdom
Queens' College, Cambridge
History
Degree: double first
Year of Graduation: 2000
Country: United Kingdom
Obtained a double first in History

Awards

Betty Trask Award
2012
Work: Scissors Paper Stone
Category: デビュー小説
Organization: Society of Authors
Result: 受賞
Young Journalist of the Year Award
2004
Organization: British Press Awards
Result: 受賞
Feature Writer of the Year
2012
Category: Broadsheet
Organization: Press Awards
Result: commendation
Rising Star Award
2019
Work: How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
Organization: British Podcast Awards
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Scissors Paper Stone

2012 Fiction

Recounts the impact of sexual abuse by a family patriarch.

sexual abusefamily

Home Fires

2013 Fiction

Details two connected women responding to the aftermaths of WWI and South Sudan conflict, and ageing.

warageing

Paradise City

2015 Fiction

Depiction of life in contemporary London.

London life

The Party

2017 Fiction

Literary thriller.

thriller
Adaptations
  • [TV series] The Party

Magpie

2021 Fiction

Explores the issue of infertility.

infertilitymotherhood

How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong

2019 Non-fiction

Lessons from failures, tie-in with her podcast.

failureself-help
Adaptations
  • [TV series] How to Fail

Bibliography

  • Scissors Paper Stone (2012)
  • Home Fires (2013)
  • Paradise City (2015)
  • The Party (2017)
  • How to Fail: Everything I’ve Ever Learned from Things Going Wrong (2019)
  • Failosophy: A Handbook for When Things Go Wrong (2020)
  • Magpie (2021)
  • Failosophy for Teens (2023)
  • Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict (2023)
  • One of Us (2025)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
thoughtful and conscientious
Recurring Motifs
failurefamily

Legacy

English novelist, journalist, and broadcaster known for her podcast How to Fail with Elizabeth Day and novels like The Party. Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.

Trivia

  • Became interested in writing at age 7 and a youth columnist for Derry Journal at 12.
  • Podcast How to Fail featured guests like Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
  • Co-founder of Pin Drop Studio.