Philip Gross is a poet, novelist and playwright. He was born in Delabole

Delabole

Delabole is a large village in north Cornwall, England, UK. It is situated approximately two miles west of Camelford.The village of Delabole came into existence in the 20th century; it is named after the Delabole Quarry. There were three hamlets: Pengelly, Medrose and Rockhead...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 and grew up in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

. He lives in Penarth, South Wales, and was appointed Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Glamorgan

University of Glamorgan

The University of Glamorgan is a university based in Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales with campuses in Treforest, Glyntaff, Merthyr Tydfil, Tyn y Wern and Cardiff...

 in 2004, a position he still holds. He previously taught creative writing at Bath Spa University College

Bath Spa University

Bath Spa University is a university based in, and around, Bath, England. The institution was previously known as Bath College of Higher Education, and later Bath Spa University College...

. He won the T.S. Eliot Prize for his collection of poems, The Water Table (2009), a Gregory Award

Eric Gregory Award

The Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....

 (1981) and the National Poetry Competition

National Poetry Competition

The National Poetry Competition is an annual poetry prize established in 1978. It is run by the UK-based Poetry Society and accepts entries from all over the world, with over 10,000 poems being submitted to the competition each year...

 (1982).

Work

On the 18th January 2010, Philip was announced as the 2009 winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize for his collection of poems, The Water Table. In 1981 he won a Gregory Award

Eric Gregory Award

The Eric Gregory Award is given by the Society of Authors to British poets under 30 on submission. The awards are up to a sum value of £24000 annually....

 and in 1982 won the National Poetry Competition.

In 2009, Cinnamon Press published a collaboration of poetry from Philip Gross with photographs from photographer Simon Denison, I Spy Pinhole Eye. The collection was awarded the Wales Book of the Year

Wales Book of the Year

The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...

 prize on 30th June 2010.

His other poetry collections include The Ice Factory, Cat's Whisker, The Son of the Duke of Nowhere, I.D., The Wasting Game - all collected in Changes of Address: Poems 1980-98, published by Bloodaxe Books, as are Mappa Mundi and The Egg of Zero.

He has published ten novels for young people including Going For Stone, The Lastling and The Storm Garden (Oxford University Press). He has also written plays, work for radio, a children's opera and collaborated with musicians, painters, dancers and other writers. He also wrote "Plex", a children's horror short story as part of the Point Horror

Point Horror

Point Horror is series of young adult horror fiction books which include authors such as Richie Tankersley Cusick, Ljane Smith, R. L. Stine, Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney, Diane Hoh, Carol Ellis, Auline Bates, Lael Littke, Barbara Steiner, D. E...

 series.

Prizes

• 2011: Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Poetry Award
• 2010: Wales Book of the Year
  Wales Book of the Year
  The Wales Book of the Year is a Welsh literary award given annually to the best Welsh and English language works in the fields of fiction and literary criticism by Welsh or Welsh interest authors...
  
  
• 2009: T.S. Eliot Prize
• 1982: National Poetry Competition
• 1981: Eric Gregory Award

Poetry collections

• 2010: Off Road to Everywhere (Salt)
• 2009: The Water Table (Bloodaxe)
• 2009: I Spy Pinhole Eye (with photographs by Simon Denison) (Cinnamon Press)
• 2006: The Abstract Garden. Poetry collaboration with engraver Peter Reddick (The Old Stile Press)
• 2006: The Egg of Zero(Bloodaxe)
• 2003: Mappa Mundi (Bloodaxe)
• 2001: Changes of Address: Poems 1980–1998 (Bloodaxe)
• 1998: The Wasting Game (Bloodaxe)

Novels for young people

• 2006: The Storm Garden (Oxford University Press)
• 2003: The Lastling (Oxford University Press)
• 2002: Going For Stone (Oxford University Press)
• 1998: Psylicon Beach (Scholastic)
• 1991: The Song of Gail and Fludd (Faber)