# Edward Docx > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edward_Docx > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Edward_Docx.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Docx > Source revision: 1283698767 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Edward Docx** (born 1972[1]) is an English writer. His first novel, *[The Calligrapher](/source/The_Calligrapher)*, was published in 2003. He is an [associate editor](/source/Associate_editor) of *[New Statesman Magazine](/source/New_Statesman)*. ## Biography Docx was born in the north of England. He was educated at [St Bede's College](/source/St_Bede's_College,_Manchester) in Manchester and then at [Christ's College, Cambridge](/source/Christ's_College,_Cambridge),[1] where he read English Literature and was President of the JCR.[1] His mother was a classical music agent and he has described his upbringing as eccentric.[2][3] He is the eldest child of a family of seven children. He lives in [London](/source/London). ## Works Docx's first novel, *[The Calligrapher](/source/The_Calligrapher)* (2003), was short-listed for both the William Saroyan prize[4] and the Guilford Prize. The *[San Francisco Chronicle](/source/San_Francisco_Chronicle)* called it the best debut book of the year.[5] This was followed by *Pravda* (2007, entitled *[Self Help](/source/Self_Help_(novel))* in the UK), which was long-listed for the Man-Booker Prize (2007)[6] and won the [Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize](/source/Geoffrey_Faber_Memorial_Prize) (2007). His third novel was *[The Devil's Garden](/source/The_Devil's_Garden_(Docx_novel))* (2011). His fourth novel, *[Let Go My Hand](/source/Let_Go_My_Hand)*, was published in April 2017 (also by Picador). Docx's work is often extremely well received by critics in the UK[7][8] and America.[9][10] *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)* has described him as 'fiendishly clever'[11] and *[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)* as a 'virtuoso phrasemaker' and one of the most humane writers of his generation.[12] Docx was cited as one of the 21 most gifted young writers from around the world by The Hay Festival Committee (2008).[13] Docx also works as a screenwriter for television and film. He is a contributing writer on the television adaptation of [Slow Horses](/source/Slow_Horses).[14] He has co-written several film scripts with the Australian director [P.J. Hogan](/source/P._J._Hogan) and has worked variously with [Andrew Davies](/source/Andrew_Davies_(writer)), Ringside Productions, Rainmark and Mandabach on television drama in the UK.[15] Docx co-writes the Swift and Hawk series of children's books with Matthew Plampin under the pen name Logan Macx.[16] The first book in the series, *Swift and Hawk: Cyberspies*, was published in 2022. ## Themes and style Docx has been compared to writers as diverse as [Dickens](/source/Charles_Dickens),[7] [Dostoyevsky](/source/Fyodor_Dostoevsky)[9] and [Coetzee](/source/J._M._Coetzee).[17] His writing is often praised for its descriptive skill.[18][19] His work is chiefly noted for its vitality and the attention given to character as well as style. A review in *The New Yorker* says "Docx has a gift for assessing “the exact shape and weight of other people’s inner selves, the architecture of their spirit” and even his most ancillary characters flare into being, vital and insistent."[20] ## Journalism Docx has contributed to British and American newspapers and magazines. In the UK, his journalism most often appears in [*The* *Guardian*](/source/The_Guardian),[21] the *[New Statesman](/source/New_Statesman)* [22] or [*Prospect* magazine](/source/Prospect_(magazine)).[23] Docx was short-listed for The [George Orwell Prize](/source/Orwell_Prize) for Journalism in 2012.[24] He was short-listed in 2014 for the [Foreign Press Association](/source/Foreign_Press_Association) Feature of the Year.[25] In 2015, he was again long-listed for the George Orwell Rowntree Prize,[26] and for a third time for the Orwell-Rowntree in 2021.[27] He has worked in the [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom) and has interviewed several British party political leaders. ## Newspaper, radio and television work Docx reviews contemporary fiction for *The Guardian*.[21] He has also worked extensively on television and radio. He presented his own show for [BBC Television](/source/BBC_Television)[28] and [BBC Radio](/source/BBC_Radio).[29] He has written widely on the cultural importance of literature and is a regular teacher of the Guardian's Masterclass series on fiction.[30] ## Politics During the leadup to the 2016 [Brexit](/source/Brexit) vote, Docx campaigned publicly for the UK to [remain](/source/Remainer) in the European Union.[31] ## References 1. ["Booker Prize: Edward Docx- a Lothario to love"](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/features/3633846/Booker-Prize-Edward-Docx-a-Lothario-to-love.html). *www.telegraph.co.uk*. 22 August 2007. 1. ["It was a dark and stormy night"](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2007/jul/21/familyandrelationships.family). *[TheGuardian.com](/source/TheGuardian.com)*. 20 July 2007. 1. Docx, Edward. ["How it feels to... Be the eldest of seven kids"](https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/property-home/article/how-it-feels-to-be-the-eldest-of-seven-kids-95vzz9l69) 1. [William Saroyan International Prize for Writing](/source/William_Saroyan_International_Prize_for_Writing) 1. ["San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year | Book awards | LibraryThing"](https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/San+Francisco+Chronicle+Best+Book+of+the+Year) 1. ["Search | The Man Booker Prizes"](http://www.themanbookerprize.com/search/node/docx) 1. ["Review: Self Help by Edward Docx"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jul/21/fiction.featuresreviews1). *[TheGuardian.com](/source/TheGuardian.com)*. 20 July 2007. 1. ["The Devil's Garden by Edward Docx – review"](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/apr/17/devil-garden-edward-docx-review). *[TheGuardian.com](/source/TheGuardian.com)*. 17 April 2011. 1. Zukerman, Eugenia (April 10, 2008). ["Russian Roulette"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/09/AR2008040903705.html). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)* 1. ["A long line of womanizing marred in one stroke / A self-styled seducer and narcissist learns his lesson in British literary critic's first novel"](http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/A-long-line-of-womanizing-marred-in-one-stroke-2582956.php.). 12 October 2003. 1. Scheeres, Julia (30 March 2008). ["Mother Russia"](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/books/review/Scheeres-t.html?_r=0). *The New York Times* 1. ["Self Help, by Edward Docx"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/self-help-by-edward-docx-828806.html). *[Independent.co.uk](/source/Independent.co.uk)*. 17 May 2008. 1. ["Literary Night Tue 24th Jan | Whirledart"](http://www.whirledart.co.uk/mailinglist/1259). *www.whirledart.co.uk* 1. ["Ed Docx"](https://theagency.co.uk/the-clients/ed-docx/) 1. ["Pj Hogan set to direct 'The Calligrapher' in London"](https://www.imdb.com/news/ni62385847). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)* 1. ["About"](https://www.loganmacx.com/about/) 1. ["The Devil's Garden, by Edward Docx"](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/the-devils-garden-by-edward-docx-2265620.html). *[Independent.co.uk](/source/Independent.co.uk)*. 9 April 2011. 1. ["'Pravda' Brings St. Petersburg, Menacing and Marvelous, to Life | Arts | the Harvard Crimson"](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2008/4/25/pravda-brings-st-petersburg-menacing-and/) 1. ["Self Help"](http://www.ft.com/content/124fb2c2-3980-11dc-ab48-0000779fd2ac). *[Financial Times](/source/Financial_Times)*. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221211231252/https://www.ft.com/content/124fb2c2-3980-11dc-ab48-0000779fd2ac) 11 December 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 20 September 2016. 1. ["Pravda"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150529160125/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/05/05/pravda-2). *The New Yorker*. Archived from [the original](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/05/05/pravda-2) on 2015-05-29. 1. ["Edward Docx | the Guardian"](https://www.theguardian.com/profile/edward-docx). *[TheGuardian.com](/source/TheGuardian.com)* 1. ["The peak"](https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/health/2020/05/peak). 27 May 2020. 1. ["Author Archives: Edward Docx"](http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/author/edward_docx). *[Prospect](/source/Prospect_(magazine))* 1. ["Short Lists | The Orwell Prize"](http://theorwellprize.co.uk/shortlists/filter/type-Journalism%20Prize/). [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131202222357/http://theorwellprize.co.uk/shortlists/filter/type-Journalism%20Prize/) 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. 1. ["Foreign Press Association Media Awards: Prospect writers shortlisted"](http://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/world/foreign-press-association-media-awards-prospect-writers-shortlisted). *[Prospect](/source/Prospect_(magazine))*. November 3, 2011. 1. ["The Orwell Prize 2015 Longlists announced | the Orwell Foundation"](http://theorwellprize.co.uk/news/the-orwell-prize-2015-longlists-announced/) 1. ["Edward Docx: 'The Peak' | the Orwell Foundation"](https://www.orwellfoundation.com/investigative/edward-docx-2/) 1. ["Ed Docx"](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2454245/). *[IMDb](/source/IMDb)* 1. ["BBC Radio 4 - Batter My Heart: Growing Up and Growing Old with John Donne"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d11l8). *BBC* 1. ["Guardian Masterclasses"](https://www.theguardian.com/guardian-masterclasses/creative-writing-ed-docx.). *[TheGuardian.com](/source/TheGuardian.com)* 1. ["BBC Two - Daily Politics, 17/12/2015, Edward Docx's pro-EU Christmas poem"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03ccnqb). *BBC*. 17 December 2015. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.edwarddocx.com/) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Edward Docx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Docx) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Docx?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.