Nathan Filer | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer, Lecturer |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of the West of England |
| Notable works | The Shock of the Fall |
| Notable awards | Costa Book of the Year Betty Trask Prize |
 Literature portal | |
Nathan Filer is a British writer best known for hisdebut novel,The Shock of the Fall. This won several major literary awards, including theCosta Book of the Year[1] and theBetty Trask Prize.[2] It was aSunday Times Bestseller,[3] and has been translated into thirty languages.[4]
Filer was born inBristol in 1980. He attended theRidings High School, a large secondary school located in the village ofWinterbourne inSouth Gloucestershire.[5] In 2002 he trained as apsychiatric nurse gaining a first class degree in Mental Health Nursing from theUniversity of the West of England[6] and later worked in mental health research at theUniversity of Bristol.[7]
He also worked as aperformance poet contributing regularly to festivals and spoken-word events across the UK, including Glastonbury, Latitude, Shambala, Port Eliot and the Cheltenham Literature Festival. His poetry has been broadcast on television and radio, includingBBC Radio 4's Bespoken Word and Wondermentalist Cabaret.[8]
The Shock of the Fall describes the life of a boy from Bristol dealing with his grief at the death of his brother, and experience of mental health care services forschizophrenia.[9][10][11] Reviewing the book inThe Psychologist, Caroline Flurey writes, "This is a beautifully poignant book, written with sympathy and sensitivity, well deserving of its Costa Book of the Year award."[12]
Filer has written on a range of issues forThe Guardian.[13][14][15] A story he wrote forThe New York Times[16] that described working with theInternational Solidarity Movement inPalestine was adapted for an episode of the Israeli prime time radio show,Israel Story, featuring Filer and his partner.[17] He has also been a panelist on theBBC Radio 2 Book Club,BBC Radio 3's Free Thinking and BBC Radio 4's Open Book, Front Row, All in the Mind and the Today Programme.[4] In 2017 he presented anArchive on 4 documentary entitledThe Mind in the Media in which he explored representations of mental illness and their impact.[18] This was shortlisted for aMind Media Award in the best radio programme category.[19]
Nathan Filer's first book of non-fiction,The Heartland: Finding and Losing Schizophrenia, was published byFaber and Faber in 2019. It was aSunday Times Book of the Year[20] and the charity,Rethink Mental Illness, named it as one of their Mental Health Books of the Decade.[21] It was also longlisted for theRathbones Folio Prize.[22]
In 2021, Filer presented a five-part podcast series calledWhy Do I Feel? This was aFinancial Times Top 10 podcast of the year.[23] It was praised by the paper for 'counterbalancing bleak stories with moments of levity, successfully steering clear of the clichés of most mental health podcasts'.[24] It also won a silver award at the 2022Radio AcademyARIAS in the 'Best Independent Podcast' category.
Filer has been awarded thehonorary degree of Master of Letters from the University of the West of England[25] and the honorary degree of Doctor of Liberal Arts fromAbertay University.[26] These degrees were conferred in recognition of his role in raising awareness through literature and his commitment to mental health care.[25][26]
He holds amaster's degree andPhD fromBath Spa University, where he is aReader in Creative Writing.[27]
