Lynne Truss biography
Born 1955, Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, England
Home until age 18: Petersham, Surrey
One sister, Kay (d 2000)
Father d 1991
Schools:
The Petersham Russell Infants’ School, Petersham 1960-63
The Orchard Junior School, Petersham 1963-66
Tiffin Girls’ Grammar School, Kingston upon Thames 1966-73
9 O levels (Biology, English Language, English Literature, French, Geography, History, Latin, Maths, Religious Knowledge)
3 A levels (English, History, Religious Knowledge)
Gamble Prize for Literature
University:
University College London 1974-77
BA Hons (First Class) English Language and Literature
Awarded Morley Medal, Rosa Morrison Scholarship and George Smith Prize
Work:
1973-74 University of London Library, Senate House, library assistant
1977-78 Radio Times, sub-editor, programme pages
1978-86 Times Higher Education Supplement, deputy literary editor
1986-90 The Listener, literary editor
Freelance writing:
1978-86 Times Educational Supplement, arts and books reviewing
1982-86 The Times, arts profiles
1988-91 The Listener, column called “Margins”
1990-91 The Independent on Sunday, arts and books coverage
1991-97 The Times, television critic, “Single Life” columnist, “Logged Off” columnist, and Op Ed columnist
1994-97 Woman’s Journal, columnist (Columnist of the Year, 1996)
1996-2000, The Times, sports columnist (shortlisted for Sports Writer of the Year, 1997)
Other regular writing:
Sunday Times, book reviews
Books:See
Books page for more information
With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed (1994; reissued 2004)
Making the Cat Laugh (1995; reissued 2004)
Tennyson’s Gift (1996; reissued 2004)
Going Loco (1999; reissued 2004)
Tennyson and His Circle (1999)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (2003; in US 2004) Book of the Year 2004, British Book Awards; also
USA Today Book of the Year
The Lynne Truss Treasury (US only, 2004)
Talk to the Hand (2005)
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: Why, Commas Really do Make a Difference! (2006)
A Certain Age: twelve radio monologues (2007)
The Girl's Like Spaghetti: Why you Can't Manage Without Apostrophes! (2007)
Stories/chapters in books:
Telling Stories (BBC), Femmes de Siecle (Chatto), Perfect Pitch (Headline), Woman's Hour Book of Short Stories 3 (BBC), Asham Short Stories (Serpents Tail), Secrets of the Press (Penguin Press), Days of Wine and Roses (Transworld), Fabulous Brighton (Shrew Press), Don’t Know a Good Thing (Bloomsbury), The Sunday Night Book Club (Arrow), Fur Babies (Quadrille)
Critical Introductions:
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (Penguin Classics)
The English Language by Robert Burchfield (Folio Society)
BP Portrait Award 2007 (National Portrait Gallery)
A Dictionary of The Sussex Dialect by W.D. Parish (Snake River Press, 2008)
Honours:
Fellowship of University College London, 2004
Honorary degree, University of Brighton, 2005
Fellow, Royal Society of Literature, 2005
Honorary degree, Open University, 2006
Honorary degree, New York School of Visual Arts, 2006
Directorships etc:
On board of Charleston Trust, East Sussex
On board of Julia Margaret Cameron Trust, Isle of Wight
On management committee of Society of Authors
Patron of Asham Trust, East Sussex
On council of Royal Society of Literature
On board of Kraszna-Krausz Foundation
Patron of Women's Refuge Project, Brighton
Personal:
One home in Brighton, since 1994 (with cats in it); one home in Bloomsbury
Cats Buster and Paddy, both born in 1986 died 2006-7 and are much missed
Hair is cut by Crown’s of Duke Street, Brighton (Janine)
Member of Groucho Club
Friend for Life of Terrence Higgins Trust
Trusty assistant named Gavin
Very keen on first series of Dr Who; disappointed by second
Irritated by: cyclists on pavements; seagulls screeching outside bedroom window around dawn; the persistent feeling of guilt that I still haven’t washed the car
Made happy by: sojourns in Greece; really good films; really good acting; a cat stretched out asleep under a lamp
STOP PRESS: New cats, Daisy and Bill, from the RSPCA shelter in Brighton
Buster and Paddy
