Andrew Greig
Andrew Greig is a Scottish poet and novelist whose work has been widely recognised. His work has spanned mountain climbing, the natural world, and historical fiction.
Biography
Greig was born in Bannockburn, near Stirling, and grew up there and in Anstruther, Fife. He first wanted to be a singer-songwriter, travelling to London in search of a record deal and also supporting John Martyn whom he knew through one of his school teachers. While still a teenager, having already started writing poetry, he shared some of his writing with the poet Norman MacCaig and travelled from Fife to meet him in Edinburgh. MacCaig's influence on Greig's career would persist until his death in 1996 and beyond:After school, Greig took various temporary jobs while also writing. He then studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh from 1971, graduating with an MA in 1975. After university he worked for a short time in advertising before deciding to concentrate on writing poetry.
Greig's writing led him to take up mountain climbing, but in 1987 he contracted ME/CFS, which brought that to an end. He continued writing during his illness and was recovered by 1997, but in 1999 he was afflicted by a colloid cyst, from which he almost died.
Greig is a former Glasgow University Writing Fellow and Scottish Arts Council Scottish/Canadian Exchange Fellow. He lives in Orkney and Edinburgh and has been married to author Lesley Glaister since 2000.
Writing career
Greig published his first book of poetry, White Boats, jointly with Catherine Czerkawska in 1973, while he was still a student. He had been awarded the Eric Gregory Award in the previous year. His next volume, Men on Ice, was published in 1977. That marked Greig's first reference to mountain climbing, although he had not then actually climbed a mountain.In 1985, Greig published an account of the successful ascent of the Muztagh Tower in the Himalayas. Summit Fever: The Story of an Armchair Climber was shortlisted for the 1996 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Title | Award | Category | Result | . |
| 1972 | — | Eric Gregory Award | — | Won | |
| 1992 | Electric Brae: A Modern Romance | McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year | — | ||
| 1996 | Summit Fever: The Story of an Armchair Climber | Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature | — | ||
| 1996 | The Return of John MacNab | Romantic Novelists' Association Award | — | ||
| 2004 | In Another Light | Scottish Book of the Year Award | — | Won | |
| 2014 | Fair Helen | Walter Scott Prize | — | ||
| 2022 | Rose Nicolson | Walter Scott Prize | — |
Published work
Poetry
Non-fiction and memoir
Fiction
Articles