Wikipedia

Olivia Sudjic

Olivia Katarina Sudjic (born 1988/1989)[1] is a British fiction writer whose first book, Sympathy, received positive reviews in the press, from publications such as The New York Times,[2] The Guardian[3] and The New Republic.[4] In 2023, she was named on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.[5]

Olivia Sudjic
Born
Olivia Katarina Sudjic

1988/1989
London, England
Alma materTrinity Hall, Cambridge
FatherDeyan Sudjic

Background

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Sudjic was born in London, England.[6] She was educated at the City of London School for Girls[7][8] and then studied English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge,[9] where she won the E.G. Harwood Prize for English.[10][11]

Selected texts

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Sympathy (2017)

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Sympathy revolves around a twenty-something woman visiting New York who becomes obsessed with an older woman via the social media app Instagram. The book is recognized for addressing generational differences: "A child of the age of algorithms, she notices everything but knows the value and significance of nothing."[12] As for the structure, it resembles the disjointed experience of surfing the internet, thereby reinforcing the story's focus on technology.[3]

The reviews for Sympathy were enthusiastic. The New Republic refers to the novel as "a remarkable debut, and with the arrival of such a novelist we can finally welcome our techno-dystopian future with open arms."[4] According to The New Republic, Sympathy is "The First Great Instagram Novel", dealing with obsession and smartphone technology.[13] The article goes on to say: "Rarely do novels so ostentatiously of the moment succeed so well at gesturing to the universal."[12] The novel was also mentioned in Vanity Fair,[14] The Financial Times,[15] The Spectator,[16] The Telegraph,[17] Elle,[18] Esquire,[19] Star Tribune,[20] The Times,[21] The New Yorker[22] and Vice,[23] among others.

Sudjic began writing Sympathy in 2014 while staying with her grandmother in Manhattan.[24][9] New York City ended up becoming integral to the story, representing the protagonist's "...searching and longing for connection."[25] In the beginning, Sudjic intended to write an historical novel, but changed her mind and set the story in contemporary times.[9] Sympathy has been described as a feminist work, with Sudjic stating that the internet is male-dominated.[26][18]

Exposure (2018)

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Exposure, a non-fiction work, was published by Peninsula Press, and named a book of the year for 2018 by the Irish Times, Evening Standard and White Review.[27][28]

Asylum Road (2021)

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Sudjic's third novel Asylum Road was published in 2021 by Bloomsbury.[29] The narrator Anya is from Sarajevo, and survived the siege of that city. The novel is about her disintegration.[30] The title refers to the street in Peckham on which an asylum was located.[31]

Asylum Road was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature's 2022 Encore Award[32] and the Society of Authors' 2022 Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize.[33]

Bibliography

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  • Sympathy (2017)
  • Exposure (2018)
  • Asylum Road (2021)

Awards and honours

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In 2023, Sudjic was named on the Granta Best of Young British Novelists list, compiled every 10 years since 1983, identifying the 20 most significant British novelists aged under 40.[5][34]

Awards for Sudjic's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
2018 Sympathy The London Magazine and Collyer Bristow Prize for Debut Fiction Shortlist [35][36]
2018 Sympathy Premio Salerno Libro d'Europa (Salerno Letteratura festival) Finalist [37]
2022 Asylum Road Encore Award Shortlist [38][32]
2022 Asylum Road Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize Shortlist [33]

References

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  1. ^ Sudjic, Olivia (30 August 2019). "Yugoslavia is gone, renamed and redrawn, but my family's history lives on within me | Olivia Sudjic". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  2. ^ Phillips, Kaitlin (13 April 2017). "In This Tale of Online Intimacy, the Only Wise Characters Are Luddites". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Scholes, Lucy (26 April 2017). "Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic, book review: It's a gripping odyssey into one woman's online-addled inner life". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  4. ^ a b Livingstone, Jo (17 March 2017). "The First Great Instagram Novel". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  5. ^ a b Razzall, Katie (13 April 2023). "Granta: Eleanor Catton and Saba Sams make Best of Young British Novelists list". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Take a look inside novelist Olivia Sudjic's London flat". Financial Times. 26 April 2019. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  7. ^ Martin, Anna (March 2019). "'Sympathy Powder in the Internet Era, A Conversation with Olivia Sudjic'". Pif Magazine. No. 262. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  8. ^ Maitland, Hayley (May 2017). "Five Minutes With...Olivia Sudjic". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Beckerman, Hannah; Clark, Alex; O'Keeffe, Alice; Kellaway, Kate; Sethi, Anita; Lewis, Tim; Parkinson, Hannah Jane; Cross, Stephanie; O'Kelly, Lisa (22 January 2017). "Meet the new faces of fiction for 2017". The Observer. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Q&A with author Olivia Sudjic". Financial Times. 21 July 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  11. ^ "Olivia Sudjic - Pushkin Press". www.pushkinpress.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  12. ^ a b Eyre, Hermione (26 May 2017). "Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic review – up-to-the-minute debut". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  13. ^ Livingstone, Josephine (17 March 2017). "The First Great Instagram Novel". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  14. ^ Crosley, Sloane (4 April 2017). "What to Read Right Now: Peter Heller's Celine, Sheryl Sandberg's Option B, and More". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on 19 July 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  15. ^ Wilkinson, Carl (2 June 2017). "Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic — online presence". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  16. ^ "Tales of three cities - The Spectator". 5 August 2017. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  17. ^ Bird, Orlando (11 May 2017). "What will 'the great internet novel' be like?". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  18. ^ a b Murray, Daisy (2 June 2017). "Olivia Sudjic Talks To ELLE About Her First Novel 'Sympathy', Navigating Social Media And Being A Millennial Rent-A-Voice". Elle. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  19. ^ Pym, Olivia (12 July 2017). "12 Books Perfect For Your Summer Holiday". Esquire. Archived from the original on 21 January 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  20. ^ Forbes, Malcolm (26 May 2017). "Review: 'Sympathy,' by Olivia Sudjic". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  21. ^ Wilson, Fiona (27 May 2017). "Review: Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic". The Times. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  22. ^ The New Yorker (24 October 2017). "What We're Reading This Week". Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018 – via www.newyorker.com.
  23. ^ Loftus O'Brien, Kate (28 April 2017). "'Sympathy' Is the Debut Novel From Olivia Sudjic About Instagram and Intimacy". Vice. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  24. ^ Maitland, Hayley (May 2017). "Five Minutes With...Olivia Sudjic". Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  25. ^ "A Conversation with Olivia Sudjic - Read It Forward". 15 May 2017. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  26. ^ Yates, Ryan (16 January 2017). "45 Queer and Feminist Books You Need To Read in Early 2017". Autostraddle. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.
  27. ^ "Books of 2018: writers pick their favourite novels and non-fiction". The Irish Times. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  28. ^ "Goldsmiths CCA — Exposure: Olivia Sudjic". goldsmithscca.art. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  29. ^ "Bloomsbury: Asylum Road". Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  30. ^ Clark, Clare (6 February 2021). "Guardian: "Inside the mind of a survivor"". Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  31. ^ "Lunate: "Asylum Road"". Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  32. ^ a b Mill, Chris (6 May 2022). "The Encore Award - 2022 Shortlist". Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  33. ^ a b "'A strange, rich and often dazzling collection' – 2022 SoA Awards shortlists announced". Society of Authors. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  34. ^ "Granta Names 'Best of Young British Novelists'". Shelf Awareness. 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  35. ^ "Winners Announced! | The London Magazine & Collyer Bristow Award For Debut Fiction". The London Magazine. 21 September 2018. Archived from the original on 2 January 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  36. ^ "Olivia Sudjic shortlisted for The London Magazine and Collyer Bristow Prize". RCW Literary Agency. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
  37. ^ "Goldsmiths CCA — Exposure: Olivia Sudjic". goldsmithscca.art. Retrieved 20 April 2023.
  38. ^ "Awards: RSL Encore Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
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