Stella Duffy
Encyclopedia
Stella Duffy is a writer and performer born in London who spent her childhood in New Zealand before returning to the UK.
and lives in Lambeth with her partner, playwright Shelley Silas
.
, ten plays, and many feature articles and reviews. With Lauren Henderson she co-edited the fiction anthology
Tart Noir (2002). Her own short story in that collection, Martha Grace, was awarded the 2002 Crime Writers' Association
's Macallan Short Story Dagger. Singling out the Couples was shortlisted for the 1999 James Tiptree Jr Memorial Award. State of Happiness was longlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize, as was The Room of Lost Things in 2008. She adapted the film script of State of Happiness for Fiesta Productions. The first novel in her Saz Martin series
, Calendar Girl, was voted fifth equal in the 2007 international poll The Big Gay Read. She won Stonewall Writer of the Year 2008 for The Room of Lost Things and in 2010 for Theodora, Actress, Empress, Whore.
She has written ten plays, including The Book of Ruth (and Naomi) for the Bush Theatre's inaugural Sixty Six Books season, an adaptation of Medea (Steam Industry at The Scoop 2009, Assembly Rooms Edinburgh 2011), Prime Resident (NYT, Soho Theatre 2007), Immaculate Conceit (NYT, Lyric Hammesmith 2003) The Hand (Gay Sweatshop 1996), her solo shows Breaststrokes (BAC 2004) and The Tedious Predictability of Falling In Love (The Oval 1990)
As a stage performer, she is an associate artist with Improbable, has been a member of the comedy improvisation
company Spontaneous Combustion since 1988 and has guested with The Comedy Store Players
. She has performed her solo show Breaststrokes (Time Out and The Guardian
Critic’s Choice) in London, Belfast
, Cardiff
, Dublin, York
, and Amsterdam
.
She has directed Cell Sell for the National Youth Theatre at the Soho Theatre; Kikia te Poa (Matthew Saville), Precious Things (company devised) at the Pacific Playhouse, Skin Tight (Gary Henderson) at the Pleasance Islington and Riverside Studios, My Inner Orc at the Pleasance, TaniwhaThames at OvalHouse Theatre – all for Shaky Isles; and The Seduction of Ms Sarah Hart (Caron Pascoe) at The Oval for Kindred Spirits.
On screen, she appeared in a 1997 episode of ITV
police procedural
series The Bill
the 2001 movie Absolution.
She also wrote and presented a documentary in 2008 for the BBC's Time Shift strand called How to write a Mills and Boon where she took on the challenge of writing a Mills and Boon romance novel.
Stonewall Writer of the Year 2008 for "The Room of Lost Things"
Stonewall Writer of the Year 2010 for "Theodora, Actress, Empress, Whore"
Biography
Born to a New Zealander father and an English mother, Duffy is the youngest in a family of seven children. The family moved to New Zealand when Duffy was five, and Duffy later returned to London. She studied English Literature and Drama at Victoria University, Wellington. Duffy is a practising BuddhistBuddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
and lives in Lambeth with her partner, playwright Shelley Silas
Shelley Silas
Shelley Silas is a British playwright born in Calcutta, India.-Career:In 2002, she won a Pearson award and was writer-in-residence at London's Bush Theatre...
.
Career
She has written twelve novels – seven literary novels published by Virago and Sceptre and five crime novels in the Saz Martin series, published by Serpent's Tail. She has also written forty-five short storiesShort Stories
Short Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
, ten plays, and many feature articles and reviews. With Lauren Henderson she co-edited the fiction anthology
Anthology
An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler. It may be a collection of poems, short stories, plays, songs, or excerpts...
Tart Noir (2002). Her own short story in that collection, Martha Grace, was awarded the 2002 Crime Writers' Association
Crime Writers' Association
The Crime Writers Association is a writers' association in the United Kingdom. Founded by John Creasey in 1953, it is currently chaired by Peter James and claims 450+ members....
's Macallan Short Story Dagger. Singling out the Couples was shortlisted for the 1999 James Tiptree Jr Memorial Award. State of Happiness was longlisted for the 2004 Orange Prize, as was The Room of Lost Things in 2008. She adapted the film script of State of Happiness for Fiesta Productions. The first novel in her Saz Martin series
Book series
A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....
, Calendar Girl, was voted fifth equal in the 2007 international poll The Big Gay Read. She won Stonewall Writer of the Year 2008 for The Room of Lost Things and in 2010 for Theodora, Actress, Empress, Whore.
She has written ten plays, including The Book of Ruth (and Naomi) for the Bush Theatre's inaugural Sixty Six Books season, an adaptation of Medea (Steam Industry at The Scoop 2009, Assembly Rooms Edinburgh 2011), Prime Resident (NYT, Soho Theatre 2007), Immaculate Conceit (NYT, Lyric Hammesmith 2003) The Hand (Gay Sweatshop 1996), her solo shows Breaststrokes (BAC 2004) and The Tedious Predictability of Falling In Love (The Oval 1990)
As a stage performer, she is an associate artist with Improbable, has been a member of the comedy improvisation
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
company Spontaneous Combustion since 1988 and has guested with The Comedy Store Players
The Comedy Store Players
The Comedy Store Players is a group of improvising comedy performers known for their performances at The Comedy Store in London. The group first came into being in October 1985.Members of the group have included:*Dave Cohen*Jeremy Hardy*Kit Hollerbach...
. She has performed her solo show Breaststrokes (Time Out and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
Critic’s Choice) in London, Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Dublin, York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
, and Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
She has directed Cell Sell for the National Youth Theatre at the Soho Theatre; Kikia te Poa (Matthew Saville), Precious Things (company devised) at the Pacific Playhouse, Skin Tight (Gary Henderson) at the Pleasance Islington and Riverside Studios, My Inner Orc at the Pleasance, TaniwhaThames at OvalHouse Theatre – all for Shaky Isles; and The Seduction of Ms Sarah Hart (Caron Pascoe) at The Oval for Kindred Spirits.
On screen, she appeared in a 1997 episode of ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
series The Bill
The Bill
The Bill is a police procedural television series that ran from October 1984 to August 2010. It focused on the lives and work of one shift of police officers, rather than on any particular aspect of police work...
the 2001 movie Absolution.
She also wrote and presented a documentary in 2008 for the BBC's Time Shift strand called How to write a Mills and Boon where she took on the challenge of writing a Mills and Boon romance novel.
Novels
- Calendar Girl (1994)
- Wavewalker (1996)
- Beneath the Blonde (1997)
- Singling Out the Couples (1998)
- Eating Cake (1999)
- Fresh Flesh (1999)
- Immaculate Conceit (2000)
- State of Happiness (2004)
- Parallel Lies (2005)
- Mouths of Babes (2005)
- The Room of Lost Things (2008)
- Theodora, Actress, Empress, Whore (2010)
Stage Plays
- The Tedious Predictability of Falling in Love (1990)
- The Hand, A Lesbian Horror Ballet (1995)
- Close To You (1996)
- Crocodiles and Bears (1999)
- Immaculate Conceit (2003)
- Breaststrokes (2004)
- Prime Resident (2006)
- Medea (new version for Steam Industry) 2009
Awards
CWA Short Story Dagger Award 2002 for "Martha Grace" (Tart Noir)Stonewall Writer of the Year 2008 for "The Room of Lost Things"
Stonewall Writer of the Year 2010 for "Theodora, Actress, Empress, Whore"
Newspaper interviews
- The Independent, 24 February 2008
- Observer, 24 June 2007
- The Times (London), 4 May 2007
- The Times (London), 3 March 2005
- The Times (London), 2 February 2005