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Ian McEwan

British author · United Kingdom · On the map · Writers · Born 1948 · age 78

Ian Russell McEwan is a British novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, The Times featured him at number 35 on its list of "the 50 greatest British writers since 1945", and The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 out of "the 100 most powerful people in British culture".

Ian McEwan is read about 1,355 times a day, in 54 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 400 days, one point a day.

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A life in dates

2024Jean Monnet PrizeAward2020Goethe MedalAward2018Honorary Doctorate of Carlos III UniversityAward2014“When a court determines any question with respect to ... the upbringing of a child ... the child's welfare shall be the court's paramount consideration.”In their wordsQuoted at the front of the book.

Bodley MedalAward2011Jerusalem PrizeAward2010“Nations are never virtuous, though they might sometimes think they are.”In their wordsPage 149. (A line from Michael Beard's speech at the Savoy Hotel, London.)

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse PrizeAwardHelmerich AwardAward2005“On a recent Sunday evening, Theo came up with an aphorism: the bigger you think, the crappier it looks.”In their wordsPage 34.

James Tait Black Memorial PrizeAward2002“Now, I'm an atheist. I really don't believe for a moment that our moral sense comes from a God.”In their wordsFebruary 2002On the 9/11 hijackers. (From "Faith and Doubt At Ground Zero," Frontline, February, 2002.)

National Book Critics Circle Award for FictionAward1999Shakespeare PrizeAward1998Booker PrizeAward1993Prix Femina étrangerAward1992“Nearby, where the main road forked, stood an iron cross on a stone base. As the English couple watched, a mason was cutting in half a dozen fresh names.”In their wordsPage 164-165.

1987“He had once felt light on the ground.”In their wordsPage 103

1983Fellow of the Royal Society of LiteratureAward1976Somerset Maugham AwardAward1948Born21 June 1948

People around Ian

Media & music

Photos 2

Ian McEwanIan McEwan

In their own words 4

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Ian McEwan
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4 statements, newest first

  1. How can one understand the inner life of a character, real or fictional, without knowing the state of her finances?

    2012 · Page 42., Own words

  2. This is how the entire course of a life can be changed - by doing nothing.

    2007 · Page 166., Own words

  3. We know so little about each other. We lie mostly submerged, like ice floes, with our visible social selves projecting only cool and white.

    1998 · Page 71., Own words

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Awards

Jean Monnet Prize2024
Goethe Medal2020
Honorary Doctorate of Carlos III University2018
Bodley Medal2014
Jerusalem Prize2011
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize2010
Helmerich Award2010
Common Wealth Award of Distinguished Service2007
James Tait Black Memorial Prize2005
National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction2002
Shakespeare Prize1999
Booker Prize1998
Prix Femina étranger1993
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature1983
Somerset Maugham Award1976
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Honorary Doctor of the University of Sussex

About this person

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Writers
Type
Writer / Author
Status
Living
Dates
Born 1948 · age 78

Where to find them

FacebookIan-McEwan-305499726425IMDbWebsiteianmcewan.com

In the same film or series as Ian

Charlotte GainsbourgAlso in The Cement Garden (1993)Emma ThompsonAlso in The Children Act (2018)Campbell ScottAlso in The Innocent (1993)Kelly MacdonaldAlso in The Child in Time (2018)Rupert EverettAlso in The Comfort of Strangers (1990)Roger MichellAlso in Enduring Love (2004)