# Cal Flyn

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**Cal Flyn** is a Scottish author and journalist.[1]

## Early life

Flyn was born in [Inverness](/source/Inverness), Scotland. She attended Charleston Academy, a state secondary school.[2] As a child, she underwent orthopedic surgery to correct [proximal femoral focal deficiency](/source/Proximal_femoral_focal_deficiency) affecting the left leg.[3]

Flyn holds an MA in experimental psychology from [Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford](/source/Lady_Margaret_Hall,_Oxford), and a [NCTJ](/source/National_Council_for_the_Training_of_Journalists) certificate in newspaper journalism from [Lambeth College](/source/Lambeth_College).[4][5]

## Career

After graduation, Flyn worked as a reporter for *[The Sunday Times](/source/The_Sunday_Times)* and *[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)*.[2] She left her job in 2012 to work at a dog-sledding kennels in [Finnish Lapland](/source/Finnish_Lapland).[6] Flyn is the deputy editor of the literary recommendations website Five Books[7]

She was made a [MacDowell Fellow](/source/MacDowell_Fellow) in 2019.[8] In 2022, she was declared 'Young Writer of the Year' by *The Sunday Times*.[9]

She is the author of [nonfiction](/source/Non-fiction) books *Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape* (2022)[10] and *Thicker Than Water: History, Secrets, and Guilt* (2016),[11] and has published essays and articles in *[Granta](/source/Granta)*, *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*, The *[Wall Street Journal](/source/Wall_Street_Journal)*, *[The Sunday Times Magazine](/source/The_Sunday_Times_Magazine)*, and other publications.[12][13][14]

## Works

Her first book, *Thicker Than Water*, tells the story of a distant relative, Angus McMillan, who is believed to have been one of the ringleaders of the [Gippsland massacres](/source/Gippsland_massacres) of Gunaikurnai aboriginal people.[15][16][17] Her second book, *Islands of Abandonment*, is an exploration of places where [nature is reclaiming lands](/source/Passive_rewilding) once occupied by humans, such as [Plymouth, Montserrat](/source/Plymouth,_Montserrat), and [Chernobyl](/source/Chernobyl).[18][19]

*Islands of Abandonment* won the [John Burroughs](/source/John_Burroughs) Medal for natural history writing.[20] It was also shortlisted for the 2021 [Wainwright Prize](/source/Wainwright_Prize) for writing on global conservation,[21] the 2021 [Baillie Gifford Prize](/source/Baillie_Gifford_Prize) for Non-Fiction, the [Royal Society of Literature](/source/Royal_Society_of_Literature)'s [Ondaatje Prize](/source/Ondaatje_Prize)[22] and the [British Academy](/source/British_Academy) Book Prize,[23] among others.

Flyn's third book *The Savage Landscape* is planned for publication in 2025.[24]

## Personal life

Flyn lives in the [Orkney Islands](/source/Orkney_Islands).[25]

## Selected publications

- *Thicker Than Water: History, Secrets and Guilt: A Memoir* (2016, William Collins: ISBN 978-0008126605)
- *Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape* (2020, William Collins: ISBN 978-0008329761)

## References

1. Holgate, Andrew (23 January 2022). ["The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer Award shortlist: meet the young literary stars of their generation"](https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-sunday-times-charlotte-aitken-young-writer-award-shortlist-meet-the-young-literary-stars-of-their-generation-fsjtrzlpz). *[The Sunday Times](/source/The_Sunday_Times)*. [Archived](https://archive.today/20220123075320/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-sunday-times-charlotte-aitken-young-writer-award-shortlist-meet-the-young-literary-stars-of-their-generation-fsjtrzlpz) 2022-01-23 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

1. Hadjidemetri, Anastasia. ["History, Secrets and Guilt: Cal Flyn, author of Thicker Than Water answers Booktopia’s Ten Terrifying Questions"](https://www.booktopia.com.au/blog/2016/05/25/cal-flynn/). *[Booktopia](/source/Booktopia)*. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

1. Flyn, Cal (14 September 2014). ["I go to the hospital to lengthen my leg. So far! So good!"](https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/i-go-to-the-hospital-to-lengthen-my-leg-so-far-so-good-zncqqkdltjz). *[The Sunday Times Magazine](/source/The_Sunday_Times_Magazine)*. [Archived](https://archive.today/20211018034819/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/i-go-to-the-hospital-to-lengthen-my-leg-so-far-so-good-zncqqkdltjz) 2021-10-18 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

1. ["Cal Flyn"](https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/books/author/cal-flyn). *[World of Books](/source/World_of_Books)*. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

1. ["LMH alumni writers feature in The Times Best Books of 2021"](https://www.lmh.ox.ac.uk/news/lmh-alumni-writers-feature-times-best-books-2021). *[Lady Margaret Hall](/source/Lady_Margaret_Hall)*. 20 November 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2024.

1. Flyn, Cal (20 December 2013). ["My winter on a husky farm in the Arctic Circle"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/safaris-and-wildlife/My-winter-on-a-husky-farm-in-the-Arctic-Circle/). *The Telegraph Magazine*. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

1. ["Cal Flyn"](https://fivebooks.com/people/cal-flyn/). *Five Books*. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

1. ["Cal Flyn - Artist"](https://www.macdowell.org/artists/cal-flyn). *MacDowell*. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

1. ["Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year: Cal Flyn"](https://www.thetimes.com/article/sunday-times-young-writer-of-the-year-interview-cal-flyn-6j78fqpx2?gclid=Cj0KCQiAsdKbBhDHARIsANJ6-jczHbXs4wtYEFnuAGH0bmvpyliKi0c9xPYxgWD1pahuOWYSw9OOgQ0aAgDEEALw_wcB). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

1. ["Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape"](https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/islands-of-abandonment-life-in-the-post-human-landscape-cal-flyn?variant=39445838790734). *HarperCollins Publishers*. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

1. ["Thicker Than Water: History, Secrets and Guilt: A Memoir"](https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/thicker-than-water-history-secrets-and-guilt-a-memoir-cal-flyn?variant=32556895764558). *HarperCollins Publishers*. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

1. ["Cal Flyn contributor page"](https://granta.com/contributor/cal-flyn/). *Granta*. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

1. ["Cal Flyn profile"](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/cal-flyn). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 2022-12-13.

1. Flyn, Cal (3 June 2021). ["When Pollution Drives Evolution"](https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-pollution-drives-evolution-11622729184). *The Wall Street Journal*. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

1. Reid, Melanie (28 May 2016). ["Books: Thicker Than Water — History, Secrets and Guilt: A Memoir by Cal Flyn"](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/books-thicker-than-water-history-secrets-and-guilt-a-memoir-by-cal-flyn-sc2jvmwmt). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

1. Lowry, Elizabeth (2 June 2016). ["Thicker Than Water by Cal Flyn review – my ancestor the murderer"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/02/thicker-than-water-cal-flyn-review-angus-macmillan). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

1. O'Mahony, Ciaran (7 March 2019). ["The Scottish explorer who became the butcher of Gippsland"](https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/mar/08/the-scottish-explorer-who-became-the-butcher-of-gippsland). *The Guardian*. Retrieved 9 March 2023.

1. Jamie, Kathleen (20 January 2021). ["How nature reclaims the places humans have abandoned"](https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2021/01/islands-of-abandonment-cal-flyn-review). *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)*. Retrieved 25 February 2024.

1. McDonald, Sally (16 March 2021). ["Wild and abandoned: Writer Cal Flyn charts her journey to the world’s disaster zones and ghost towns"](https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/writer-cal-flyn/). *The Sunday Post*. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

1. ["2022 AWARD WINNERS:"](https://www.johnburroughsassociation.org/literary-awards/about-the-awards). *John Burroughs Association*. Retrieved 16 November 2022.

1. ["2021 Shortlist Announcement"](https://wainwrightprize.com/news/2021-shortlist-announcement/). *Wainwright Prize*. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

1. ["RSL Ondaatje Prize 2022 Shortlist Announced"](https://rsliterature.org/rsl-ondaatje-prize-2022-shortlist-announced/). *The Royal Society of Literature*. 20 April 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2024.

1. ["Shortlist announced for the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding 2021"](https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/news/shortlist-announced-for-the-british-academy-book-prize-for-global-cultural-understanding-2021/). Retrieved 13 December 2022.

1. Spanoudi, Melina. ["William Collins scoops new book by Islands of Abandonment author Flyn"](https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/william-collins-scoops-new-book-by-islands-of-abandonment-author-flyn). *[The Bookseller](/source/The_Bookseller)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20240225161558/https://www.thebookseller.com/rights/william-collins-scoops-new-book-by-islands-of-abandonment-author-flyn) 2024-02-25 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2023-10-09.

1. Jana, Rosalind (31 August 2021). ["Author Cal Flyn on the Landscapes Left Behind"](https://www.toa.st/blogs/magazine/cal-flyn-landscapes-left-behind). *TOAST Magazine*. Retrieved 13 December 2022.

## External links

- [Official website](https://www.calflyn.com/)
- ["Surrendering Control, Review by: Profile Editorial Team"](https://profilecritics.com/content/review/Islands_of_Abandonment). *profilecritics.com*. 24 June 2022.
- ["Interview with Cal Flyn, Profile magazine"](https://profilecritics.com/content/interview/Cal_Flyn_interview). *profilecritics.com*. 11 July 2022.
- ["Cal Flyn in conversation about 'Islands of Abandonment: Life in the Post-Human Landscape'"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ginJ7n-KgCU&t=312s). *[YouTube](/source/YouTube)*. Newcastle Centre for the Literary Arts. February 18, 2021. (conversation with Ella Mershon, Newcastle University lecturer in Victorian literature)
- ["At Home with Literati: Cal Flyn & David Haskell"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0Z4l1jMA-k). *YouTube*. Literati Bookstore (Ann Arbor, Michigan). July 13, 2022. (recorded on June 29, 2022; conversation with biologist [David G. Haskell](/source/David_G._Haskell))

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cal Flyn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Flyn) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Flyn?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.