Photos • Biography • Facebook • Twitter

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Graeme Armstrong
Born1991
Airdrie, Scotland
Alma mater University of Stirling
Notable awards

Graeme Armstrong (born 1991) [1] is a Scottish author best known for his debut novel, The Young Team. The novel won the 2021 Betty Trask Award and Somerset Maugham Award, [2] [3] and was Scots Language Awards 'Scots Book of the Year' in the same year. The Young Team is currently being adapted for television by Synchronicity Films. [4]

In April 2023, Granta included Armstrong on their 'Best of Young British Novelists' list, [5] [6] an honour presented every ten years to the twenty most significant British novelists under forty. [7]

Biography

Armstrong (right) as a young gang member in Airdrie, 2006

Armstrong is from Airdrie, Scotland. [8] [9] As a teenager was involved with North Lanarkshire's gang culture as a member of the 'Young Mavis', from Glenmavis. [8] [10] At fourteen, he was expelled from Airdrie Academy and began attending Coatbridge High School, where he joined another gang, the 'Lang El Toi' (LL TOI) from Langloan, Coatbridge. [9]

Aged sixteen, following the deaths of three friends by heroin overdose [1] and after reading Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh, Armstrong pursued a route into higher education, and began to break away from gang life. [11] [10] During his time in gangs, he struggled with alcohol abuse, drug addiction and violence. [12] [9] Armstrong "stopped taking drugs on Christmas Day 2012" and speaks candidly about having a Christian faith. His experiences inspired his debut novel, The Young Team, which is written in West Central Scots language. [8] [9] [10] [13]

In 2013, Armstrong received a 2:1 Bachelor of Arts undergraduate degree in English Studies from the University of Stirling [12] and returned there to complete a Master of Letters in Creative Writing, graduating with Merit in 2015. [12] [10] As of 2023, he is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. [14]

Armstrong hosts workshops and conferences around youth violence, substance abuse and gang culture in schools and prisons. [9] He has worked with the Violence Reduction Unit and Community Justice Scotland [15] and other organisations involved in violence prevention, such as Medics Against Violence [16] from Glasgow. In 2022, he spoke at the annual School Leaders Scotland conference and continues to work within the community. [17] [18]

In 2021, Armstrong wrote and starred in a short film for the Edinburgh International Book Festival Infectious Nihilism and Small Metallic Pieces of Hope [19] directed by James Price. [20] Later that year, he presented a BBC documentary, Scotland the Rave with IWC Media, which was subsequently nominated for a BAFTA Scotland and Royal Television Society Scotland award. [21]

At the 2023 Education Scotland 'Scottish Attainment Challenge' conference, Armstrong gave a keynote speech based around his lived experience of education, gang violence, substance misuse and recovery from addiction. [22]

During the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2023, Armstrong hosted James Kelman and spoke around difficulties in working-class representation, "cultural banishment" and Kelman's new work, 'God's Teeth and Other Phenomena'. [23]

Armstrong wrote and presented a three-part BBC Scotland documentary series, Street Gangs [24] [25] exploring current Scottish gang culture, including the recent impact of social media, drill music / roadman culture, and his lived experience as an ex-gang member, which aired in October 2023 and is featured on BBC iPlayer. [26] [27] [28]

In November 2023, Armstrong was announced as an ambassador for The Hope Collective, a London-based anti-violence organisation, formed originally to support the 20th anniversary legacy campaign for Damilola Taylor. [29]

Awards and honours

In April 2023, Granta included Armstrong on their "Best of Young British Novelists" list, [5] [6] an honour presented every ten years "to the twenty most significant British novelists under forty." [7]

Awards for Armstrong's writing and broadcast media
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2021 The Young Team Betty Trask Award — Winner [2]
Scots Language Awards Scots Book of the Year Winner [30]
Saltire Society Literary Award Scottish First Book of the Year Shortlist [31]
Somerset Maugham Award — Winner [32] [3]
2022 Scotland the Rave BAFTA Scotland Single Documentary Nominee [33]
RTS Scotland Documentary and Specialist Factual Nominee [34]
The Cloud Factory Granta Best of Young British Novelists — Winner [35] [36] [37]

Publications

  • The Young Team - novel (Picador, 2020) [38]
  • Billy the Kid and the KO at the Coral - novel extract (Gutter, 2019) [39]
  • Landit - short story (The Middle of a Sentence: Short Prose Anthology, The Common Breath, 2020) [40]
  • The Mad Hoose - from memoir (Stryvling Press, 2021) [41]
  • My Head Teacher Helped me Choose Life - essay (TES, 2021) [42]
  • Standard English is oor Second Language - essay (Literature Alliance Scotland, 2021) [13]
  • The Jakit, Mysticism n PPK Resurrection - from memoir (Scottish Book Trust, 2022) [43]
  • La Gang - Italian translation of The Young Team (Guanda, 2021) [44]
  • The Young Team - Spanish translation (Automática Editorial, 2022) [45]
  • The Cloud Factory - from memoir (Granta, 2023) [46]

Filmography

  • Scotland the Rave – single documentary (IWC Media, 2021) [38]
  • Street Gangs – documentary series (Tern Media, 2023) [25]

References

  1. ^ a b Villalba, Juanjo (21 December 2022). "Graeme Armstrong: 'Nostalgia has its place but there is a younger Scottish generation, their stories matter'". EL PAÍS English. Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Betty Trask Prize". The Society of Authors. 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Somerset Maugham Awards". The Society of Authors. 8 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  4. ^ Ravindran, Manori (19 April 2021). "'The Young Team,' Acclaimed Novel About Scotland Gang Culture, Gets TV Adaptation By Synchronicity Films (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  5. ^ a b Schaub, Michael (13 April 2023). "'Granta' Names 20 Best Young British Novelists". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b Shaffi, Sarah (13 April 2023). "Granta reveals its pick of future star British novelists". The Guardian. ISSN  0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Best of Young British Novelists 5". Granta. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b c Preston, Alex (22 February 2020). "Graeme Armstrong: 'When I stopped taking drugs, I felt a kind of loneliness'". The Guardian. ISSN  0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e O'Neill, Christina (19 May 2021). "Graeme Armstrong on The Young Team, leaving the gang life behind and his journey to literary success". GlasgowLive. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d 'I walked into uni as a ned and left with a Masters', Laura Boyd, STV News, 22 May 2021
  11. ^ "Ex-gang member and Young Team author Graeme Armstrong on the lonely road to redemption". HeraldScotland. 7 March 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  12. ^ a b c "Graeme Armstrong". Pan Macmillan. Archived from the original on 2 October 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Graeme Armstrong – Standard English is oor Second Language". Literature Alliance Scotland. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Two Strathclyders on once-a-decade Best Young British Novelists list". www.strath.ac.uk. University of Strathclyde. 18 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  15. ^ "Community justice exhibition opens at University of Stirling | About". University of Stirling. 20 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  16. ^ BBC Scotland. "A brush with death led Callum to make a life changing decision". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  17. ^ "School Leaders Scotland – Take a leap and join the leaders!". Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Graeme Armstrong". Blake Friedmann. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  19. ^ Infectious Nihilism and Small Metallic Pieces of Hope (Short 2021) - IMDb, retrieved 15 May 2023
  20. ^ Reading Scotland: Graeme Armstrong, Welcome tae Airdrie, retrieved 15 May 2023
  21. ^ "Graeme Armstrong — News". Blake Friedmann. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Why the Scottish Attainment Challenge requires even more collective action | Tes". www.tes.com. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  23. ^ "Watch online: James Kelman: Class Act". www.edbookfest.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  24. ^ "BBC Scotland - Street Gangs, Series 1, Episode 1". BBC. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  25. ^ a b "New BBC documentary on 'young team' culture to air next week". Glasgow Times. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  26. ^ "Writer who left life of violence behind to present BBC Scotland gang culture series". The Scotsman. 5 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Tern TV - Home Page". Tern. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  28. ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (16 October 2023). "'I've never been more dangerous than when I was 14': an ex-member of Scotland's teen gangs fights back". The Guardian. ISSN  0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  29. ^ "Ambassadors". Hopecollective. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  30. ^ "Top Scots tips from Scots Book o the Year 2021 winner Graeme Armstrong". Scottish Book Trust. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  31. ^ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2021 Shortlists". The Saltire Society. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
  32. ^ "Graeme Armstrong". Blake Friedmann. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  33. ^ "2022 Scotland Single Documentary | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  34. ^ "RTS Scotland Awards 2022 | Winners". Royal Television Society. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  35. ^ "Graeme Armstrong". Granta. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  36. ^ Teddy Jamieson (20 April 2023). "Granta: Novelists list shows how much society has changed for better". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  37. ^ "Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list". BBC News. 13 April 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  38. ^ a b "The Young Team by Graeme Armstrong". www.panmacmillan.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  39. ^ "Gutter". Gutter. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  40. ^ "The Middle of a Sentence: Short Prose Anthology". Books from Scotland. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  41. ^ "Stryvling Press". 22 February 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  42. ^ "My headteacher helped me choose life | Tes Magazine". www.tes.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  43. ^ "The Jakit, Mysticism n PPK Resurrection by Graeme Armstrong". Scottish Book Trust. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  44. ^ "La gang". Guanda (in Italian). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  45. ^ "The Young Team | Automática Editorial". automaticaeditorial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  46. ^ "The Cloud Factory". 27 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Graeme_Armstrong_(author)&oldid=1218977755"