Somerset Maugham Award
2 appearances
-
Edition 0 (1992) Winner
Geoff Dyer
ジェフ・ダイアー
Jefu Daiā
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1958-01-01 （Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England）
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Cheltenham, England → Brixton, London → Venice, California
Career
- Occupations
- author, novelist, non-fiction writer, critic, travel writer
- Active Years
- 1986-2025
- Affiliations
- Royal Society of Literature (Fellow), University of Southern California
- Memberships
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Influenced By
- John Berger, D. H. Lawrence
- Influenced
- Nominations
- 1998 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism finalist (Out of Sheer Rage)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corpus Christi College, Oxford | Faculty of English | English | BA | 1977-1981 | United Kingdom |
Corpus Christi College, Oxford
Faculty of English
/ English
Degree:
BA
Period:
1977-1981
Year of Graduation:
1981
Country:
United Kingdom
Scholarship to study English
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Somerset Maugham Award | But Beautiful | — | Society of Authors | winner |
| 2004 | WH Smith Literary Award (Best Travel Book) | Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It | — | WH Smith | winner |
| 2009 | Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize | Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi | Best Comic Novel | — | winner |
| 2011 | National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism | Otherwise Known as the Human Condition | — | National Book Critics Circle | winner |
| 2015 | Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (Non-Fiction) | — | — | Yale University | winner |
Somerset Maugham Award
1992
Work:
But Beautiful
Organization:
Society of Authors
Result:
winner
WH Smith Literary Award (Best Travel Book)
2004
Work:
Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It
Organization:
WH Smith
Result:
winner
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
2009
Work:
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi
Category:
Best Comic Novel
Result:
winner
National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism
2011
Work:
Otherwise Known as the Human Condition
Organization:
National Book Critics Circle
Result:
winner
Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (Non-Fiction)
2015
Organization:
Yale University
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
The Donald Windham Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes
1 appearances
-
Edition 3 (2015) Winner
Works
Major Works
But Beautiful
1991 Non-fiction (Jazz)A creative non-fiction about jazz musicians' lives.
jazzmemoryimagination
Yoga For People Who Can't Be Bothered To Do It
2003 TravelTravelogue of a yoga journey.
travelself-discovery
Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi
2009 NovelComic novel set in Venice and Varanasi.
traveldeathart
Otherwise Known as the Human Condition
2011 Essay CollectionCollection of selected essays and reviews.
criticismculture
Bibliography
- Ways of Telling: the work of John Berger
- The Colour of Memory
- But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz
- The Search
- The Missing of the Somme
- Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D. H. Lawrence
- Paris Trance
- Anglo-English Attitudes
- Yoga for people who can't be bothered to do it
- The Ongoing Moment
- Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi
- Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room
- Another Great Day at Sea
- White Sands: Experiences from the Outside World
- Broadsword Calling Danny Boy
- The Street Philosophy of Garry Winogrand
- See/Saw: Looking at Photographs
- The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings
- Homework: A Memoir
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- genre-blurringautobiographical fictionlyrical non-fiction
- Recurring Motifs
- travelartmemorydeath
Health
-
minor stroke2014minor impact
Legacy
Known as an innovative English author blending genres, winner of numerous literary awards.
Trivia
- Only child raised in Cheltenham; father sheet metal worker, mother school dinner lady.
- Bedell Distinguished Visiting Professor at University of Iowa 2013; teaches PhD at USC.