Paul Torday


Paul Torday was a British writer and the author of the comic novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The book was the winner of the 2007 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic writing and was serialised on BBC Radio 4. It won the Waverton Good Read Award in 2008. It was made into a 2011 feature film of the same name, starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt.

Life

Born in 1946 in Croxdale, County Durham, north-east England, and educated at the Royal Grammar School, Newcastle and Pembroke College, Oxford, Paul Torday turned to fiction writing only later in life, and his first novel was published at the age of 59. Prior to that, he was a successful businessman living in Northumberland. The inspiration for the novel stemmed from Torday's interest in both fly fishing and the Middle East. From these two strands, he weaves a political satire that centres on the world of political spin management.
His second novel, The Irresistible Inheritance of Wilberforce, is about a man who drinks himself to death.
In 2008, Torday was shortlisted for his debut novel as Newcomer of the Year at the Galaxy British Book Awards.
Torday's third book, The Girl on the Landing, was published in 2009. This novel deals principally with themes of schizophrenia and racism.
His son Piers Torday is a children's writer.

Novels

Torday's novels include:Salmon Fishing in the YemenThe Irresistible Inheritance of WilberforceThe Girl on the LandingThe Hopeless Life of Charlie SummersMore Than You Can SayBreakfast at Hotel Déjà vuTheoThe Legacy of Hartlepool HallLight Shining in the Forest
  • ''The Death of an Owl''

The Paul Torday Memorial Prize

Paul Torday published his first novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen aged 60. The family decided to set up this new prize in Torday's honour in 2019, celebrating first novels by authors aged 60 or over. This prize is administered by the Society of Authors.
2019
  • Winner: Anne Youngson for Meet Me at the Museum
  • Runner-up: Norma MacMaster for Silence Under a Stone
Shortlisted:
  • Su Bristow for Sealskin
  • Sheila Llewllyn for Walking Wounded
  • Sally Magnusson for The Sealwoman's Gift
  • Heather Morris for The Tattooist of Auschwitz
2020
  • Winner: Donald Murray for As the Woman Lay Dreaming
  • Runner-up: Gaby Koppel for Reparation
Shortlisted:
2021
  • Winner: Kathy O'Shaghnessey for In Love With George Elliot
  • Runner-up: Karen Raney for All The Water In The World
Shortlisted:
2022
  • Winner: Jane Fraser for Advent
  • Runner-up: Michael Mallon for The Disciple
Shortlisted:
  • John Fletcher for Wuhan
  • Anthony English for Death of a Coast Watcher
  • Yvonne Bailey-Smith for The Day I Fell Off My Island
2023
Shortlisted: