Today's Read Team Michael Nott Awarded 2024 Hatchards & Biographers’ Club First Biography Prize
Michael Nott has been recognized with the prestigious 2024 Hatchards & Biographers’ Club First Biography Prize for his work, Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life, published by Faber. This accolade comes with a monetary award of £2,500.
A Glimpse into Thom Gunn’s Life
The judges applauded Nott’s comprehensive portrayal of Thom Gunn, characterizing it as a “no-holds-barred” exploration into the life of one of the most innovative poets of both England and America. Nott provides a detailed account of Gunn’s troubled beginnings, marked by his mother’s suicide, through his transformative education at Cambridge University, where he first began writing and embraced his identity as a gay man. There, he formed a significant partnership with Mike Kitay, who would later accompany him to San Francisco.
Chronicler of Queer Culture
In San Francisco, Gunn emerged as a significant voice within the LGBTQ+ community, capturing the zeitgeist of queer culture. His work reflects a passionate embrace of life while also demonstrating profound sensitivity to mortality, particularly illustrated in his collection, The Man with Night Sweats, which poignantly addresses the AIDS crisis.
Judges’ Praise and Selection Process
The selection panel emphasized Nott’s ability to weave together a myriad of materials, including letters, diaries, notebooks, interviews, and Gunn’s own poetry, to create a vivid representation of a major literary figure and sexual icon. Tom Baily, one of the judges, remarked on the “meticulous detail and commanding use of material,” which collectively paints a vibrant picture of both Gunn’s life and the cultural milieu of his time.
Celebration of Literary Achievement
The announcement of the prize winner was made on March 4, 2025, during a celebration hosted at Hatchards in Piccadilly, marking the inaugural year of the bookshop’s sponsorship of the prize.
Notable Shortlist
Nott’s work stood out among a shortlist that included:
- Looked After: A Childhood in Care by Ashley John-Baptiste (Hodder & Stoughton)
- These Heavy Black Bones by Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell (Canongate)
- Cloistered by Catherine Coldstream (Chatto & Windus)
- Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton (Canongate)
- The Red Emperor by Michael Sheridan (Headline Publishing)
Acknowledgement from the Author
Upon receiving the award, Nott expressed that he was “honoured to receive this distinguished prize,” signifying the recognition of his work and the importance of biographies in understanding complex lives.
Cultural Context
Recent trends indicate a growing interest in memoirs and biographies, with sales reaching record highs, according to Nielsen BookScan, further emphasizing the relevance of Nott’s award-winning contribution to this literary genre.
