Benjamin Wood

Benjamin Wood

The Bellwether Revivals is the first novel to be written by creative writing lecturer Benjamin Wood, and already it is reaping some pretty hefty accolades. The book, which has been compared to the works of F Scott Fitzgerald and Donna Tartt, was shortlisted for the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize Sony Reader Award for best unpublished novel, before landing a publishing deal with Simon & Schuster. The Bellwether Revivals is now longlisted for the Desmond Elliot Prize.

Although writing has always been a prominent string to Wood’s bow (he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend the MFA Creative Writing programme at the University of British Columbia back in 2004), it is by no means his only forte. When not working on novels, Wood writes and records songs with his brother under the name Arbiter Deputy. As teenagers the duo even recorded with Coldplay producer Ken Nelson, touring the UK and supporting bands – do this man’s talents never cease?

Read more about Wood’s achievements (and listen to some of his recordings) on his website here.