Jeanette Winterson

Jeanette Winterson is a novelist and professor of new writing known for her contributions to contemporary British literature and her exploration of gender, identity, and technology in fiction. Winterson was adopted and raised in Accrington, Lancashire, in northern England. Her Pentecostal Evangelist upbringing forms the backdrop of her debut novel, "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit."

After leaving home as a teenager, Winterson attended St. Catherine's College, Oxford, and later worked as an assistant editor at Pandora Press in London. She has contributed reviews and articles to various newspapers and journals and has maintained a regular column in The Guardian.

Winterson's novels include "Boating for Beginners," "The Passion," "Sexing the Cherry," "Written on the Body," "Art and Lies," and "Gut Symmetries." Her work often features experimental narrative structures and addresses themes such as love, sexuality, and the boundaries of storytelling. She adapted "The PowerBook" for the National Theatre and has written for television and radio, including the BBC adaptations of "Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit" and "Great Moments in Aviation," as well as the radio play "Text Message."

Winterson has published collections of short stories and essays, including "The World and Other Places" and "Art Objects." She has edited new editions of Virginia Woolf's novels and curated anthologies such as "Midsummer Nights." Her children's books include "The King of Capri," "Tanglewreck," "The Battle of the Sun," and "The Lion, The Unicorn and Me." She also wrote the children's thriller "Ingenious" for BBC Television.

Her novel "Frankissstein" reimagines Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and explores artificial intelligence, gender, and humanity. The book received recognition from the Booker Prize, Saltire Society Literary Awards, and Goldsmiths Prize. Winterson's memoir, "Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?," and her novels "The Daylight Gate" and "The Gap of Time" further demonstrate her range across genres and historical periods. Her essay collections, including "Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days," "Why Solitude Matters," and "12 Bytes," address topics such as technology, artificial intelligence, and the role of storytelling in society.

Winterson lives in Gloucestershire and London and has been recognized with an OBE for her services to literature. She is frequently invited to speak at literary festivals, universities, and cultural institutions about writing, technology, and contemporary fiction.