Harris, Jane 1962(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1962, in Belfast, Ulster, Northern Ireland; married Tom Shankland (a film director). Education: Graduated from Glasgow University; University of East Anglia, M.A.

ADDRESSES:

Home—London, England.

CAREER:

Writer, director, producer, screenwriter. Worked as a singer, actor, dishwasher, waitress, chambermaid, and teacher of English as a foreign language; Durham Prison, writer-in-residence, 1992-94. Served as a director/producer for various television programs.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Film, Best Script and Best Story at the Italian TRINI Festival and Best Short at the Leicester Film Festival, for the short film Bubbles, 1999; Writer's Award, Arts Council of England, 2000.

WRITINGS:

The Observations (novel), Viking (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of screenplays Baby Doll, 1998, Bubbles, 1999, Bait, 2000, and Going Down, 2001. Contributor of short fiction to magazines.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jane Harris began to write while living in Portugal. At the time, she had no money, no television, and access to very few books. As a way to entertain herself, she attempted to write a short story about a former boyfriend who was a transvestite. She discovered that she enjoyed the process, and was also encouraged by the receptiveness of publishers as her work began appearing in magazines and anthologies. She returned home determined to be a writer, and enrolled in the University of East Anglia's creative writing program. Following graduation, Harris spent two years as writer-in-residence at Durham Prison, while working on a novel. She eventually wrote a number of screenplays for her husband, director Tom Shankland, but continued on her own projects as well. In 2000, she was the recipient of an Arts Council Writer's Award. Harris's novel, The Observations, was published in 2006. The book takes place in 1863, and tells the story of Bessy Buckley, a young woman who leaves Glasgow, Scotland, and becomes a maid at a rundown estate, only to discover that her mistress is writing a book about domestics and has included some less-than-flattering comments about Bessy. Kristine Huntley, in a review for Booklist, remarked that "Bessy's unique, witty voice distinguishes this boisterous novel," and a contributor for Kirkus Reviews called the book "rollicking and engaging. A confident, fresh, roguishly charming first work." In a review for the Spectator, William Brett wrote: "This is an accomplished balancing act, pulled off with a degree of narrative control unusual for a first novel."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, April 15, 2006, Kristine Huntley, review of The Observations, p. 37.

Entertainment Weekly, June 23, 2006, Tina Jordan, review of The Observations, p. 75.

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2006, review of The Observations, p. 370.

Publishers Weekly, April 10, 2006, review of The Observations, p. 46.

Spectator, June 24, 2006, William Brett, "The Diary Maid," review of The Observations.

ONLINE

BookBrowse.com,http://www.bookbrowse.com/ (June 13, 2006), author biography.

Book Magazine Online,http://www.thebookmagazine.co.uk/ (November 26, 2006), Christine Kidney, review of The Observations.

BookPage,http://www.bookpage.com/ (November 26, 2006), Tasha Alexander, review of The Observations.

Faber & Faber Web site,http://www.faber.co.uk/ (November 26, 2006), author biography.

Observer Online,http://books.guardian.co.uk/ (March 19, 2006), Liz Hoggard, "Well If That Doesn't Cap It All."

Scotsman on Sunday Online,http://living.scotsman.com/ (March 19, 2006), Jackie McGlone, "How Burns Turned into Bessy."*