Writer: Kitty Fitzgerald Kitty worked as shop assistant, waitress, photographic technician, butter maid, teacher, shelf-filler and customer liaison officer before giving up work to concentrate on writing.
Her new novel. a modern fable is called: The Water Thief and the Manateewas ublished in early June by IRON Press and launched at the IRON in the Soul Festival in Cullercoats on June 10th.
A political, Ecological And cultural fable: as a Young girl and her Father on a small island are confronted with the reality and cruelty of global market forces when the local well and water supply are annexed. For support they call upon the mythical powers of the manatees. It will be available to purchase from 10th June from good bookshops, IRON Press and InPress Books.
She is the author of 5 novels and one short story collection: Identity (2014, Room to Write) Miranda's Shadow (2013, short stories, IRON Press) Pigtopia (2005, Faber & Faber), Pigtopia Was Sold to over 20 Countries And Was Critically Acclaimed. Small Acts of Treachery (2002, Brandon) Snapdragons (1999, Brandon) Marge (1985, Sheba)
A volume of Poetry: For Crying Out Loud (1994, IRON Press) with Valerie Laws,
Four plays for BBC Radio 4
Eight of her theatre plays have been Performed By Companies Including: York Theatre Royal, Northern Stage, Live Theatre, Cloud Nine Theatre, Quondam Theatre, Durham Theatre Co.
She Co-Wrote, The Art & Craft Of Short Stories With David Almond And Peter Mortimer Wrote, The Write File for Gateshead Libraries and Arts.
She has been awarded:
Autumn 2015 : Writer in residence at the University of Manitoba, Canada Heinrich Boll Award A Hosking House fellowship 2nd place, Fiction, in The USA Barnes & Noble Discover Awards a Time to Write Award (ACNE) a C P Taylor Playwriting Bursary (Northern Playwrights) the most original screenplay for Dream On (Amber Films) at Le Baule Film Festival, France. a Hawthornden Fellowship. She has been shortlisted and longlisted for several short story awards.
She Has Edited Three Anthologies Of Fiction For IRON Press: IRON Women, Biting Back, And Most Recently (2013), Root.
She was Creative Writing Fellow at Leeds University in 2007. She was a partner in Amber Films for several years and has also produced heritage scripts for museums and other venues.
Kitty has written features for Prospect Magazine, New Society, The Leveller and others. She set up the South Pennines Oral History Project and edited its magazine, On & Off the Record. She was born in Ireland and now lives in Northumberland.
'Irish novelist Kitty Fitzgerald is a gifted writer whose use of language and imagination exposes the shimmering gold that is sometimes revealed hidden beneath a loathsome exterior. Reminiscent of The Bell Jar and The Catcher in the Rye, Pigtopia poignantly chronicles a loss of innocence that exposes the naive shortcomings of adolescence and the ruthlessness of adults in a startling and original fashion. Perfectly paced and finely crafted, the story of Jack Plum and Holly Lock is worthy of attention: A tale about ugliness and where it really hides, Pigtopia is a beautifully moving, sad and wonderful tragedy.' --Hours CA Ottowa
The official launch of Miranda's Shadowtook place on Thursday June 27th, 7.30 pm at the Literary & Philosophical Society, 22, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne. shortlisted for the 2013 William Trevor/Elizabeth Bowen Internatonal Short Story Award, for one of the stories in my debut short story collection, Miranda's Shadow, http://www.inpressbooks.co.uk/miranda-s-shadow/
In 2013, Kitty edited a new anthology of short stories for IRON Press called ROOT, which has fifteen new stories by North east writers. See below and Publications page.
