Andrew Greig
Andrew Greig | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 September 1951 |
| Occupation |
|
| Nationality | British |
| Notable awards | Eric Gregory Award (1972) Scottish Book of the Year (2004) |
| Spouse | Lesley Glaister |
| Website | |
| andrew-greig | |
Andrew Greig (born 23 September 1951) is a Scottish poet and novelist whose work has been widely recognised. His work has spanned mountain climbing, the natural world, and historical fiction.
Biography
[edit]Greig was born in Bannockburn, near Stirling, and grew up there and in Anstruther, Fife.[1] He first wanted to be a singer-songwriter, travelling to London in search of a record deal and also supporting John Martyn whom he knew through one of his school teachers.[2] While still a teenager, having already started writing poetry, he shared some of his writing with the poet Norman MacCaig and travelled from Fife to meet him in Edinburgh.[3] MacCaig's influence on Greig's career would persist until his death in 1996 and beyond:
I'd never call myself an intimate friend of MacCaig, but he was a role model, a mentor. I liked him, he really mattered to me, and as the years went on after his death, I increasingly missed him and thought about him.[3]
After school, Greig took various temporary jobs while also writing.[2] He then studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh from 1971, graduating with an MA in 1975.[4] After university he worked for a short time in advertising before deciding to concentrate on writing poetry.[2]
Greig's writing led him to take up mountain climbing, but in 1987 he contracted ME/CFS, which brought that to an end. He continued writing during his illness and was recovered by 1997,[2] but in 1999 he was afflicted by a colloid cyst, from which he almost died.[3]
Greig is a former Glasgow University Writing Fellow and Scottish Arts Council Scottish/Canadian Exchange Fellow[citation needed]. He lives in Orkney and Edinburgh and has been married to author Lesley Glaister since 2000.[5][2]
Writing career
[edit]Greig published his first book of poetry, White Boats, jointly with Catherine Czerkawska in 1973, while he was still a student. He had been awarded the Eric Gregory Award in the previous year.[4] His next volume, Men on Ice, was published in 1977. That marked Greig's first reference to mountain climbing, although he had not then actually climbed a mountain.[2]
In 1985, Greig published an account of the successful ascent of the Muztagh Tower in the Himalayas. Summit Fever: The Story of an Armchair Climber was shortlisted for the 1996 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature.[6]
Awards and nominations
[edit]| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | — | Eric Gregory Award | — | Won | [7] |
| 1992 | Electric Brae: A Modern Romance | McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year | — | Shortlisted | [8] |
| 1996 | Summit Fever: The Story of an Armchair Climber | Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature | — | Shortlisted | [9] |
| The Return of John MacNab | Romantic Novelists' Association Award | — | Shortlisted | [8] | |
| 2004 | In Another Light | Scottish Book of the Year Award | — | Won | [10] |
| 2014 | Fair Helen | Walter Scott Prize | — | Shortlisted | [11] |
| 2022 | Rose Nicolson | — | Shortlisted | [12] |
Published work
[edit]Poetry
[edit]- Greig, Andrew; Czerkawska, Catherine (1973). White Boats. Edinburgh: Garret Arts.
- —— (1977). Men on Ice. Edinburgh: Canongate Publishing. ISBN 0903937174.
- —— (1982). Surviving Passages. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 0862410258.
- Greig, Andrew; Jamie, Kathleen (1986). A Flame in your Heart. Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe Books. ISBN 1852240172.
- —— (1990). The Order of the Day. Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe. ISBN 1852241020.
- —— (1994). Western Swing. Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe. ISBN 185224268X.
- —— (2001). Into You. Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe. ISBN 1852245557.
- —— (2006). This Life, This Life: New & Selected Poems 1970 - 2006. Newcastle upon Tyne: Bloodaxe. ISBN 978-1852247133.
- —— (2011). Getting Higher: The Complete Mountain Poems. Edinburgh: Polygon. ISBN 978-1846971921.
- —— (2011). As Though We Were Flying. Tarset: Bloodaxe. ISBN 978-1852249168.
- —— (2013). Found at Sea. Edinburgh: Polygon. ISBN 9781846972690.
- Butlin, Ron; Greig, Andrew; Lochhead, Liz; McCabe, Brian (2020). Horns & Wings & Stabiliser Things: The Lost Poets. Edinburgh: Polygon. ISBN 978-1846975554.
Non-fiction and memoir
[edit]- —— (1985). Summit Fever: The Story of an Armchair Climber. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0091620600.
- —— (1986). Kingdoms of Experience: Everest, the Unclimbed Ridge. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 009165890X.
- —— (2006). Preferred Lies: A Journey to the Heart of Scottish Golf. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0297848356.
- —— (2010). At the Loch of the Green Corrie. London: Quercus. ISBN 978-1847249968.
- Heron, Mike; Greig, Andrew (2017). You Know What You Could Be: Tuning into the 1960s. London: Quercus. ISBN 978-1784293000.
Fiction
[edit]- —— (1992). Electric Brae: A Modern Romance. Edinburgh: Canongate. ISBN 0862414040.
- —— (1996). The Return of John MacNab. London: Headline Review. ISBN 0747217041.
- —— (1999). When They Lay Bare. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 057119687X.
- —— (2000). That Summer. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571204236. (Published in some markets as The Clouds Above: A Novel of Love and War.)
- —— (2004). In Another Light. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 029784878X.
- —— (2008). Romanno Bridge. London: Quercus. ISBN 978-1847243157.
- —— (2013). Fair Helen. London: Quercus. ISBN 9780857381910.
- —— (2021). Rose Nicolson. London: Quercus. ISBN 9781784292980.
Articles
[edit]- —— (November 1983), "A White Elephant in Anstruther", in Lindsay, Maurice (ed.), The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment 32
References
[edit]- ^ Rush, Christopher, "Elephants in Anstruther: In Search of the Scottish Identity", in Lindsay, Maurice (ed.), The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment 31, August 1983, pp. 43 - 48, ISSN 0140-0894
- ^ a b c d e f "Andrew Greig". Scottish Poetry Library. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ^ a b c "Reeling in the years: Andrew Greig on Norman MacCaig". The Scotsman. 9 April 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ^ a b Macdonald, Kirsty (18 November 2008). "Andrew Greig". The Literary Encyclopedia. London: The Literary Dictionary Company. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ^ "Lesley Glaister". www.umbrella2005.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2005. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- ^ "Winning books, shortlisted books and other entries". Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Eric Gregory Past Winners". Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Andrew Greig". Waterstone's. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Winning books, shortlisted books and other entries". Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature. Archived from the original on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Saltire Society Literary Awards - Winning Books". BooksFromScotland.com. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Walter Scott Prize Shortlist 2014". Walter Scott Prize. 4 April 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- ^ "Shortlist spotlight – Andrew Greig". The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
External links
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Rush, Christopher (August 1983), "Elephants in Anstruther: In Search of the Scottish Identity", in Lindsay, Maurice (ed.), The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment 31, pp. 43–48
- Scott, Alexander (February 1984), "Pink Elephants in Anstruther: Scottish Identity", in Lindsay, Maurice (ed.), The Scottish Review: Arts and Environment 33, pp. 3–8
- Corbett, John (2004), "The Stalking Cure: John Buchan, Andrew Greig and John Macnab", Scot Lit, vol. 30, Association for Scottish Literary Studies, ISSN 0957-5499
