Annalena McAfee is a distinguished author of fiction novels and children's books. Born in London, she attended Essex University and embarked on a career in newspapers that spanned over three decades. McAfee held prestigious positions in the literary world, serving as arts and literary editor of the Financial Times and founding the Guardian Review, which she edited for six years. Her expertise and critical eye led to her selection as a judge for several prominent awards, including the Orange Prize for Fiction, the South Bank Show Awards, and the Ben Pimlott Prize for political writing. McAfee currently resides in London with her husband, author Ian McEwan.
McAfee is particularly well-known for her novels "The Spoiler," published in 2011, and "Hame," released in 2017. In addition to her work as a novelist, she has made significant contributions to children's literature, with several of her books translated into foreign languages such as German, Dutch, and French. McAfee's career in journalism included stints as a literary journalist for the Financial Times, a theater critic for the Evening Standard, and the editor of the Guardian Review from 1999 to 2006. She has also served on the judges panel for various awards, such as the Orange Prize in Fiction, the South Bank Show Awards, the Penguin/Guardian photography competition, the Ben Pimlott Award for political writing, and the Samuel Johnson award for non-fiction. McAfee has participated in numerous literary festivals, including Prague in 2003 and Hay-on-Wye in 2005, and served as a judge for the Orwell Prize in political writing in 2008.