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William Boyd

Writing

Born March 7, 1952 · Accra, Gold Coast [now Ghana]

Biography

William Andrew Murray Boyd is a Scottish novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film director. He is best known for his novels, which include A Good Man in Africa (1981), Any Human Heart (2002), and Restless (2006), many of which have received critical acclaim and literary awards. Boyd has also written screenplays for film and television, including Chaplin (1992), and directed the World War I drama The Trench (1999).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA

Awards & recognition

  • Prix du Rayonnement de la langue et de la littérature françaises · 2025
  • Bodley Medal · 2017
  • Commander of the Order of the British Empire · 2005
  • Officer of Arts and Letters · 2005
  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize · 1990
Show all 12 awards →
  • Best of Young British Novelists · 1983
  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature · 1983
  • Somerset Maugham Award · 1982
  • Costa Book Award — First Novel · 1981
  • John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
  • Booker Prize · 2002 · nominated
  • Booker Prize · 1982 · nominated

Filmography8 titles