North Water (McGuire) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1963-64
• Where—Hull, England, UK
• Education—M.A., University of Sussex; Ph.D., University of Virginia
• Currently—lives in Manchester, England

Ian McGuire grew up near Hull, England. He studied at the University of Manchester, the University of Sussex where he earned his M.A., and the University of Virginia where he earned his Ph.D. in 19th-century American literature.

He has taught at Manchester University since 1996, first as a lecturer in American Literature and more recently as a lecturer in Creative Writing. He now co-directs the Centre for New Writing.

Writing
His first novel, Incredible Bodies (2006), a spoof of academic life and ambition, was described as "hugely entertaining" and "a 21st century Lucky Jim" by the (London) Times. The Sunday Times found it "very funny and disconcertingly sad," while John Mullan in the New Statesman referred to it as a "refreshingly low-minded campus novel."

His second novel, The North Water (2016) draws on his knowledge of American literature, particularly Melville. A thriller/adventure/survival narrative, the Independent called it "a stunning achievement, by turns great fun and shocking, thrilling and provocative" as well as "one of the finest books of the year."

McGuire has written and published on Whitman, Melville and Howells, and is particularly interested in the American realist tradition from the 1880s to the present day. In addition, his stories have been published in Chicago Review, Paris Review, and elsewhere. (Adapted from the publisher and Manchester Centre for New Writing.)