Chris Cleave
Chris Cleave (born 1973) is a British writer and journalist.
Chris Cleave

Mogens Engelund · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Chris Cleave
- Born
- 14 May 1973
- Birthplace
- London, England
- Occupation
- Writer
- Education
- Balliol College, Oxford
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Known for
- The Other Hand
- Honours
- Somerset Maugham Award
- Languages
- English
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Chris Cleave (born 1973) is a British writer and journalist.
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Authority files
wikidata · Q1077103 · wikipedia · Chris Cleave
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Chris Cleave • Born — 14 May 1973 • Birthplace — London, England • Occupation — Writer • Language — English • Subject — Literary fiction • Education — Balliol College, Oxford • Notable Works — Incendiary The Other Hand Chris Cleave (born 1973) is a British writer and journalist.
Biography
Biography
Cleave was born in London on 14 May 1973, brought up in Cameroon and Buckinghamshire, and educated at Dr Challoner's Grammar School and Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied experimental psychology. He lives in the UK with his French wife and three children.
Writing
Writing
Cleave's debut novel Incendiary was published in twenty countries and has been adapted into a feature film starring Michelle Williams and Ewan McGregor. The novel won a 2006 Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. The audiobook version was read by Australian actor Susan Lyons. His second novel, The Other Hand, was released in August 2008 and was described as "A powerful piece of art... shocking, exciting and deeply affecting... superb" by The Independent. It has been shortlisted for the 2008 Costa Book Awards in the Novel category. Cleave was inspired to write The Other Hand from his childhood in West Africa. It was released in the US and Canada in January 2009 under the title Little Bee. Gold, his third novel, was called "bold and brave" by The Observer. Cleave is a columnist for The Guardian in London. From 2008 until 2010 he wrote a column for The Guardian entitled "Down with the kids".
Novels
Novels
• Incendiary (2005) • The Other Hand (2008, Sceptre), published as Little Bee in the United States and Canada. • Gold (2012) • Everyone Brave Is Forgiven (2016)
Short stories
Short stories
• "Quiet Time" • "Fresh Water" • "Oyster"
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1973
Chris Cleave was born on 14 May 1973.
Primary material
Documents and archives
scholarly publication
- "Tutta la vita in un foglio": 1 il dramma dell'asilo in The Other Hand di Chris Cleave, MONDI MIGRANTI, 2012
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2012
- Cleave, Chris: The Other Hand, Kindlers Literatur Lexikon (KLL), 2020
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2020
- Preferred Reading to Polysemic Reception: Applying Hall’s Encoding/Decoding to Refugee Representation in The Other Hand (Little Bee) by Chris Cleave, Erothanatos, 2025
Scholarly · Crossref registry · 2025
reference work
- “Chris Cleave”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q1077103: Chris Cleave
General reference · Wikidata
References
Citations
References
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scholarly publication
"Tutta la vita in un foglio": 1 il dramma dell'asilo in The Other Hand di Chris Cleave, MONDI MIGRANTI, 2012Crossref registry
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Institutional witnessscholarly publication
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
Secondary witness
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Chris Cleave is recorded with the occupation entrepreneur. Recorded as writer, journalist, novelist, entrepreneur and docent.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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