Ex-Ridings Student wins the Costa Book of the Year!
January 30th, 2014Ex-Ridings student, Nathan Filer won the Costa Book of the Year on Tuesday 28th January, with his debut novel, The Shock of the Fall .
Nathan Filer, 32, attended Winterbourne International Academy (known as Riding s High School at the time) during the 90 s where he regularly participated in the schools drama productions and later developed a name for himself as a slam poet, touring festivals across the country.
The Shock of the Fall is a brave novel, which follows the experience of Matthew Holmes, a 19-year-old from Bristol who is haunted after witnessing his brother’s death as a child at a holiday park in Dorset. The book gradually explores the man s descent into mental illness.
While discussing the experience of writing about this fictional character, Filer explained, the story grew over time and I got to really like the character .he s a funny character and a nice character and I enjoyed spending time with him.
Filer was a registered mental health nurse in Bristol, which provided him with a startling and unique insight into the illness. The Shock of the Fall is a poignant and powerful book generating wider discussions about society’s attitude towards mental illness.
Schizophrenia is a commonly misunderstood and misrepresented illness both in fiction ad the press given my work in that area it was important to me to not propagate myths around the illness.
The Shock of the Fall was subject to an 11-way auction and bought by HarperCollins for a six-figure sum. After publication, it was also selected for BBC Radio 2’s Bookclub and a Specsavers National Book Award.
Nathan still lives in Bristol and is currently a writer and lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University along with continuing to work shifts as a registered nurse.
Upon winning the award, Nathan Filer said, “I’m a good combination of shocked and delighted”
It s certainly been memorable week for Nathan having got married just three days prior to winning this prestigious award.
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