Leone Ross

Leone Ross (born 26 June 1969, Coventry, England)[1] is a British novelist, short story writer, editor, journalist and academic, who is of Jamaican and Scottish ancestry.[2]

Biography

Ross was born in Coventry, UK, and when she was six years old migrated with her mother to Jamaica, where Leone was raised and educated. After graduating from the University of the West Indies in 1990, Ross returned to England to do her master's degree in International Journalism at City University, in London, where she now lives.[3] Her first novel, All The Blood Is Red was published by Angela Royal Publishing in 1996. It was short-listed for the Orange Prize in 1997. Her second critically acclaimed novel, Orange Laughter is published in the UK by Anchor Press, in the United States by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and Picador and in France by Actes Sud.

In 2000 Ross was a recipient of a London Arts Board Writers Award. She has represented the British Council in the United States, South Korea, Slovakia, Romania, Sweden, and across the UK.

In September 2004, Ross was chosen as one of 50 Black and Asian writers who have made major contributions to contemporary British literature, appearing in the historic "A Great Day in London" photograph taken at the British Library.[4][5]

In 2010 Wasafiri magazine placed Orange Laughter on its 25 Most Influential Books list.

Ross has worked at Cardiff University, Trinity College Dublin, the City Literary Institute and the Arvon Foundation, and is Senior Lecturer in the Creative Writing department at Roehampton University in London.

Her short fiction and essays have been widely anthologised, including the Brown Sugar erotica series, which zoomed to number three on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller's List. Other US collections include Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror (14th Edition). In 2000, she co-edited the award-winning Whispers in The Walls: New Black and Asian Writing from Birmingham. She is included in Best British Short Stories 2011 (Salt Publishing, edited by Nicholas Royle) and Kingston Noir (edited by Colin Channer; Akashic Books). Her recent publications include short story "The Mullerian Eminence" in Closure (edited by Jacob Ross; Peepal Tree Press, 2015),[6] "How To Write Weird Shit/On Magic Realism" in The Art of the Novel (edited by Nicholas Royle; Salt, 2016), and "Minty Minty" in McSweeney's (edited by Marlon James). "The Woman Who Lived in A Restaurant" was published as a special, limited-edition chapbook by Nightjar Press in October 2015.[7]

Prior to the publication of her books, Ross worked as a journalist and editor for 14 years. She held the post of Arts Editor at The Voice newspaper, Women's Editor at the New Nation newspaper, and was transitional Editor for Pride magazine in the UK. She also held the position of Deputy Editor at Sibyl, a feminist magazine. She has freelanced for The Independent on Sunday and The Guardian, as well as for London Weekend Television and the BBC.[3]

Ross has written novels and short stories in speculative fiction, erotica, and Caribbean fiction genres. In 2015, she judged the Manchester Fiction Prize, alongside Stuart Kelly.[8]

Works

Novels
  • This One Sky Day (2016)
  • Orange Laughter (Picador USA 2001; Actes Sud, France 2001; Farrar Straus & Giroux, USA, 2000; Anchor Press, UK, 2000; Angela Royal Publishing, UK, 1999.)
  • All the Blood Is Red (Actes Sud, France, 2002; Angela Royal Publishing, UK, 1996.)
Short stories
  • "Minty Minty" in Timothy McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, ed. Marlon James (McSweeney's, USA: San Francisco, Autumn 2016)
  • "The Woman Who Lived in a Restaurant" as a limited edition chapbook, ed. Nicholas Royle (Nightjar Press, Autumn 2015)
  • "The Mullerian Eminence" in Closure: Contemporary Black British Short Stories,, ed. Jacob Ross (UK: Peepal Tree Press, September 2015)
  • "Fix" in The World to Come, eds Om Prakash Dwivedi and Patrick West (Australia: Spineless Wonders, November 2014)
  • "Smile" in Minuteman, April 10, 2013; collected in Minuteman (USA: Awe&TheAbyss, June 2013)
  • "Roll It" in Kingston Noir, ed. Colin Channer (USA: Akashic Books: May 2012)
  • "Love Silk Food" in Wasafari magazine, Volume 25, No. 4, eds Bernardine Evaristo and Karen McCarthy (USA, September 2010); reprinted in The Best British Short Stories 2011, ed. Nicholas Royle (UK: Salt Publishing, October 2011)
  • "When the River" in Making the Hook Up: Edgy Sex with Soul, ed. Cole Riley (USA: Cleis Press, March 2010)
  • "The Heart Has No Bones" in the zine Incommunicado: Uncommon Book_Map, eds Romy Ash and Tom Doig (Australia: Express Media, 2006)
  • "Breakfast Time" in Tell Tales, Vol. 2, ed. Rajeev Balasuramanyam (London: flipped eye, June 2005)
  • "President Daisy" in The Writer Fellow: An Anthology, eds Terence Brown and Gerald Dawe (Ireland: School of English, Trinity College, 2004)
  • "Breathing" in Fish Anthology 2004: Spoonface and Other Stories, ed. Clem Cairns (Ireland: Fish Publishing, June 2004)
  • "Contract" in Brown Sugar 3: When Opposites Attract, ed. Carol Taylor (USA: Washington Square Press, January 2004)
  • "Art, for Fuck’s Sake", in Carol Taylor (ed.), Brown Sugar 2: Great One-Night Stands (USA: Washington Square Press, January 2003)
  • "Covenant" in Obsidian III: Literature in the African Diaspora, Vol. 2, No. 2, Fall/Winter 2000-2001, ed. Kwame Dawes (USA: North Carolina State University Press, 2001); in Leone Ross and Yvonne Brissett (eds), Whispers in the Walls: New Black and Asian Voices from Birmingham (UK: Tindal Street, 2001)
  • "Drag" in Brown Sugar: A Collection of Erotic Black Fiction, ed. Carol Taylor (USA: Dutton Plume, January 2001)
  • "Mudman" in The Time Out Book of London Short Stories, Volume 2, ed. Nicholas Royle (USA & UK: Penguin, October 2000)
  • "Tasting Songs" in Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora, ed. Sheree R. Thomas (Hardback; USA: Warner Books, July 2000; trade paperback, Aspect, July 2001); reprinted in The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror: 14th Annual Collection, ed. Ellen Datlow (USA: St. Martin’s Press, 2001)
  • "And You Know This" in Wild Ways: New Stories About Women on the Road, eds Margo Daley and Jill Dawson (UK: Sceptre Press, March 1998)
  • "Façade" in Burning Words, Flaming Images: Poems and Short Stories by Writers of African Descent, ed. Kadija Sesay (UK: SAKS Publications, October 1996); reprinted in England Calling: 24 Stories for the 21st Century, eds Julia Bell and Jackie Gay (UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, July 2001)
  • "Phone Call to a Rape Crisis Centre" in Burning Words, Flaming Images: Poems and Short Stories by Writers of African Descent, ed. Kadija Sesay (UK: SAKS Publications, October 1996)
Non-Fiction
  • "How to Write Weird Shit" in The Art of the Novel, ed. Nicholas Royle (UK: Salt, 2016)
  • Foreword to David I. Muir's The Real Rock: Pieces of Jamaica (Jamaica: 2012)
  • "The People" in Discover Jamaica (UK: Insight Guides, 2000)
  • How Many Storeys? The History of Housing Associations in the UK (as L. J. Ross) (UK: Ujima Housing Association, 2000)
  • Afterword to Laurie Gunst's Born Fi’ Dead: A Journey Through the Yardie Posse Underworld (UK: Canongate, 1995)
  • "Black Narcissus" in IC3: The Penguin Book of New Black Writing in Britain, eds Courttia Newland and Kadija Sesay (UK: Penguin, 2000)
Poetry
  • Poetry ("Rooms", "Ouch", "Sex Myths", "Incidents at 3 A.M.") in Burning Words, Flaming Images, ed. Kadija Sesay (UK: SAKS Media, 1996)
  • Poetry in Creation Fire: A CAFRA Anthology of Caribbean Women’s Poetry, ed. Ramabai Espinet (Canada: Sister Vision Press, October 1989)

Awards

  • London Arts Board Writers Award (2000)[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Leone Ross", British Council: Literature (last visited August 6, 2012).
  2. ↑ Petra Tournay, "Gender and ethnicity in the body politics of everyday life: Leone Ross's All the Blood is Red", Interactions, 22 March 2007.]
  3. 1 2 3 A Brief Biography - "Leone Ross", Literature of the Caribbean, PostColonialWeb.org.
  4. ↑ Andrea Levy, "Made in Britain. To celebrate the impact of their different perspectives, 50 writers of Caribbean, Asian and African descent gathered to be photographed. Andrea Levy reports on a great day for literature", The Guardian, 18 September 2004.
  5. ↑ Kevin Le Gendre, "Books: A great day for a family get together Who are the movers and shakers in black British writing? And can they all fit on one staircase?", The Independent on Sunday, 17 October 2004.
  6. ↑ ["Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-07-04.
  7. ↑ "Nightjars drawing in", Nightjar Press, 8 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Manchester Writing Competition shortlists announced", Manchester Metropolitan University.
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