Jane Mary Gardam OBE is a highly acclaimed British author, known for her works in children's and adult fiction. She was born in Co Durham, England and spent her childhood in the Yorkshire town of Seaham. After studying English at Bedford College in London, Gardam worked as a teacher and librarian before turning to writing full-time. She has won numerous literary awards, including the Whitbread Award twice and has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2009, she was awarded an OBE for her services to literature.
Gardam's first book for adults, "Black Faces, White Faces" (1975), a collection of linked short stories about Jamaica, won both the David Higham Prize for Fiction and the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. She has also written several short story collections such as "The Pangs of Love and Other Stories" (1983), "Going into a Dark House" (1994) and "Missing the Midnight: Hauntings & Grotesques" (1997). Her first novel for adults, "God on the Rocks" (1978), a coming-of-age novel set in the 1930s, won the Prix Baudelaire (France) in 1989 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize for Fiction. Her other notable novels include "The Queen of the Tambourine" (1991), "Faith Fox" (1996), and "The Flight of the Maidens" (2000).
In addition to her work for adults, Gardam has also written for children and young adults. Her novel "Bilgewater" (1977), originally written for children, has now been re-classified as adult fiction. She was awarded the Whitbread Children's Book Award for "The Hollow Land" (1981) and is the author of "A Few Fair Days" (1971), a collection of short stories for children set on a Cumberland farm, and two novels for teenagers, "A Long Way From Verona" (1971) and "The Summer After the Funeral" (1973).
Gardam is a member of PEN and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She is married with three children and divides her time between East Kent and Yorkshire. She also reviews for the Spectator and the Telegraph, and writes for BBC radio. Gardam's works have been translated into many languages and have been adapted for television and radio. She has been awarded the Heywood Hill Literary Prize in recognition of a distinguished literary career.