University of Manchester welcome celebrated author Jeanette Winterson in two-year lecturer role

By Ian Silvera

One of the country’s best known literary figures is to become a professor of creative writing at The University of Manchester.

‘Oranges are not the only fruit’ author Jeanette Winterson will begin a two-year stint at the University’s Centre for New Writing in October.

The Mancunian will have a busy teaching schedule, including a post graduate MA workshop, MA seminar and undergraduate lectures.

President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Manchester Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, said: “We’re delighted that Jeanette Winterson will succeed Colm Toibin and his predecessor Martin Amis as Professor for Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing.”

She added: “She is a brilliant novelist, a public intellectual, and a writer who makes the case that the arts matter in contemporary Britain. We are certain she will inspire her Manchester students and audiences.”

Ms Winterson was born in Manchester, and adopted by Pentecostal parents who brought her up in the nearby mill-town of Accrington.

Her first novel, the semi autobiographical Oranges are not the only fruit, was published in 1985 when she was just 25.

It went on to become an international bestseller and inspire a popular BBC television adaptation.

The 52-year-old is published around the world in 15 languages and writes regularly for The Guardian, The Times and the New York Times.

In August she will publish a novella in the new Hammer Horror series called The Daylight Gate about the Lancashire witches.

The Oxford Graduate was made an OBE in the 2006 New Year Honours list.

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