Kit Whitfield
Encyclopedia
Kit Whitfield is an English
novelist. Her first novel, titled Bareback in the UK and Benighted in the US, was published by Random House
in August 2006. It has subsequently been purchased by Warner Brothers for an undisclosed six-figure sum, and is currently being adapted as a film called Benighted by director Andrew Adamson
. Her 2009 novel In Great Waters was nominated for a World Fantasy Award
.
She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School
, Christ's College, Cambridge
and the University of East Anglia
(MA).
Bareback/Benighted is a thriller with a whodunit
structure set in an alternative world
where most of the population are werewolves - although the word is not used in the story - and concerns the minority
status of those who are, because of adverse conditions at birth, born with a disability that prevents them from 'furring up' on full moon nights. The novel's genre
is a debatable question, as it is published by the science fiction
imprint Del Rey
in the USA and the literary imprint Jonathan Cape
in Britain, while being reviewed under various genre classifications including by crime reviewers, and the author has appeared in The Guardian
stating her opposition to genre stereotypes as an overly constrictive way of thinking about literature. It has received comparisons with George Orwell
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
and Margaret Atwood
's The Handmaid's Tale
in The Times
newspaper.
Other short stories by Kit Whitfield were originally published in the Oxford and Cambridge May Anthologies, and have subsequently appeared on her website.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
novelist. Her first novel, titled Bareback in the UK and Benighted in the US, was published by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
in August 2006. It has subsequently been purchased by Warner Brothers for an undisclosed six-figure sum, and is currently being adapted as a film called Benighted by director Andrew Adamson
Andrew Adamson
Andrew Ralph Adamson, MNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles, where he made the blockbuster animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2 for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for C. S....
. Her 2009 novel In Great Waters was nominated for a World Fantasy Award
World Fantasy Award
The World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
.
She was educated at St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School
St Paul's Girls' School is a senior independent school, located in Brook Green, Hammersmith, in West London, England.-History:In 1904 a new day school for girls was established by the trustees of the Dean Colet Foundation , which had run St Paul's School for boys since the sixteenth century...
, Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
and the University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
(MA).
Bareback/Benighted is a thriller with a whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
structure set in an alternative world
Parallel universe (fiction)
A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
where most of the population are werewolves - although the word is not used in the story - and concerns the minority
Minority group
A minority is a sociological group within a demographic. The demographic could be based on many factors from ethnicity, gender, wealth, power, etc. The term extends to numerous situations, and civilizations within history, despite the misnomer of minorities associated with a numerical statistic...
status of those who are, because of adverse conditions at birth, born with a disability that prevents them from 'furring up' on full moon nights. The novel's genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
is a debatable question, as it is published by the science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
imprint Del Rey
Del Rey Books
Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn since 1998, by Bertelsmann AG. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It specializes in science fiction and fantasy...
in the USA and the literary imprint Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape
Jonathan Cape was a London-based publisher founded in 1919 as "Page & Co" by Herbert Jonathan Cape , formerly a manager at Duckworth who had worked his way up from a position of bookshop errand boy. Cape brought with him the rights to cheap editions of the popular author Elinor Glyn and sales of...
in Britain, while being reviewed under various genre classifications including by crime reviewers, and the author has appeared in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
stating her opposition to genre stereotypes as an overly constrictive way of thinking about literature. It has received comparisons with George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
and Margaret Atwood
Margaret Atwood
Margaret Eleanor Atwood, is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, and environmental activist. She is among the most-honoured authors of fiction in recent history; she is a winner of the Arthur C...
's The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale
The Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian novel, a work of science fiction or speculative fiction, written by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and first published by McClelland and Stewart in 1985...
in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper.
Other short stories by Kit Whitfield were originally published in the Oxford and Cambridge May Anthologies, and have subsequently appeared on her website.