Ardashir Vakil
Address:
Room 303
Floor 3
Warmington Tower
BA English Lit (Cambridge University) PGCE (Institute of Education)
Taught in various Inner London Comprehensives
Previously Visiting Lecturer in Creative Writing at Middlesex, Roehampton and UEA.
Profile and Research interests
Ardu was born in Bombay and lived in India upto the age of eighteen. His first novel Beach Boy (a bildungsroman set in 1970s Bombay) won a Betty Trask Award, was shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Prize and has been translated into ten languages. His second novel One Day (24 hrs in the life of a mixed race London couple) was shortlisted for the Encore Award for the best second novel. In addition his short stories have been anthologized in Mosaic (New Writings from Award-winning British and Indian Writers), and in Rites of Spring (New Writing from London), and a recent story, Soft Boy, was broadcast by Radio 4 and BBC World. He sometimes reviews novels for the national press and has written articles for academic journals. At present he is working on a prequel/sequel to his first novel.
Teaching
Ardu is convenor of the BA in English with Creative Writing and admissions tutor for this programme. He is also a workshop leader and tutor on the MA in Creative and Life Writing, and lectures and runs seminars on the Engaging Poetry Unit for undergraduates.
Selected publications
- Beach Boy (Penguin, 1997)
- Who Else Can I Talk To? (Short story in Mosaic, British Council and Penguin, 1998)
- The Whole Biryani (Short story in Fourth Estate, 1999)
- A New Leaf (Article in Changing English, Studies in Reading and Culture)
- One Day (Penguin, 2002)
- Eva (Short story published by Edizione Corraini and Illystories, 2006)