Colm Tóibín
Colm Tóibín FRSL (/ˈkʌləm toʊˈbiːn/ KUL-əm toh-BEEN, Irish: [ˈkɔl̪ˠəmˠ t̪ˠoːˈbʲiːnʲ]; born 30 May 1955) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, critic, playwright and poet.
Colm Tóibín FRSL | |
|---|---|
Tóibín in 2006 | |
| Chancellor of the University of Liverpool | |
| In office 2 February 2017 – 2022 | |
| Succeeded by | Wendy Beetlestone |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 May 1955 Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland |
| Alma mater | UCD |
| Occupation |
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| Website | colmtoibin |
| Writing career | |
| Language | English (Hiberno-English) |
| Genre | Essay, Novel, Short Story, Play, Poem |
| Subject | Irish society, living abroad, creativity, personal identity |
| Notable works |
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| Notable awards | Encore Award 1993 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction 2004 International Dublin Literary Award 2006 Irish PEN Award 2011 Hawthornden Prize 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award in Irish Literature 2019 David Cohen Prize 2021 Folio Prize 2022 |
His first novel, The South, was published in 1990. The Blackwater Lightship was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. The Master (a fictionalised version of the inner life of Henry James) was also shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the 2006 International Dublin Literary Award, securing for Toíbín a bounty of thousands of euro as it is one of the richest literary awards in the world. Nora Webster won the Hawthornden Prize, whilst The Magician (a fictionalised version of the life of Thomas Mann) won the Folio Prize. His fellow artists elected him to Aosdána and he won the biennial "UK and Ireland Nobel" David Cohen Prize in 2021.
He succeeded Martin Amis as professor of creative writing at the University of Manchester. He was appointed Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in 2017. He is now Irene and Sidney B. Silverman Professor of the Humanities at Columbia University in Manhattan.