 Julian
Barnes was born in Leicester, England on January 19, 1946. He
was educated at the City of London School from 1957 to 1964 and
at Magdalen College, Oxford, from which he graduated in modern
languages (with honors) in 1968. After graduation, he worked
as a lexicographer for the Oxford English Dictionarysupplement
for three years. In 1977, Barnes began working as a reviewer
and literary editor for the New Statesmen and the New Review.
From 1979 to 1986 he worked as a television critic, first for
the New Statesmen and then for the London Observer. He has
received several awards including: Maugham award, 1981; Booker
Prize nomination, 1984; Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize, 1985;
Medicis Essai prix and the Prix Femina (France), 1986; E M Forster
Award (American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters), 1986;
Gutenberg Prize (France), 1987. Barnes was made a Chevalier de
l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1988 and was awarded the Shakespeare
Prize by the FVS Foundation of Hamberg in 1993. In 1995 he became
an Officier de l'’Ordre des Arts et des Lettre. He currently
lives in London. |