Joe Dunthorne

Joe Dunthorne
A white man with short blond hair at a public reading.
Joe Dunthorne (2019)
Born (1982-01-14) 14 January 1982 (age 44)
Swansea, Wales
Education
OccupationsNovelist, poet, journalist
Writing career
LanguageEnglish
Period2008–present
GenreLiterary fiction
Notable work
Notable awards
Encore Award 2011
Websitewww.joedunthorne.com

Joe Dunthorne (born 14 January 1982) is a Welsh novelist, poet and journalist. He made his name with his novel Submarine (2008), made into a film in 2010. His second novel, Wild Abandon (2011), won the RSL Encore Award. A selection of his poems was published in 2010 in the Faber New Poets series. He published first solo collection of poems, titled O Positive, in 2019.

Education

Joseph Oliver Dunthorne was born in Swansea, Wales on 14 January 1982. He has two sisters, Anna and Leah.

Dunthorne was educated at Olchfa School, Swansea before going on to study creative writing at the University of East Anglia (UEA). He graduated from the UEA with an MA in creative writing. In the final year of his course[citation needed] he began writing his debut novel Submarine, for which he won the university's inaugural Curtis Brown Prize.

Career

Dunthorne's first novel Submarine, in which a teenager records with comedy and anguish his relationship with his girlfriend and his lop-sided view of the strains on his parents' marriage, was published by Penguin imprint Hamish Hamilton to critical acclaim in 2008. Shortly afterwards, the novel was made into a film, directed by Richard Ayoade and starring Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, and Sally Hawkins. The film premiered at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival, and was shown in London, Berlin and Swansea before going on general release in March 2011.

In 2010, a selection of Dunthorne's poetry was published as part of the Faber New Poets series, a scheme providing mentoring and financial support for unpublished poets.

Dunthorne's second novel, Wild Abandon, was published by Penguin in 2011. An account of a brother and sister living in a rural commune, it went on to win the Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award for Best Second Novel. In 2019, Dunthorne published his first collection of poetry, O Positive.

In 2025, Dunthorne released his first non-fiction book Children of Radium, in which he traces back the history of his great-grandfather, Siegfried Merzbacher, a German-Jewish chemist who developed radioactive toothpaste and later contributed to chemical weapons research in Nazi Germany. In examining his great-grandfather's 2000-page unpublished memoir and conducting international research, Dunthorne's book explores themes of historical truth, moral ambiguity, and the complexities of family legacy.

Personal life

Dunthorne lives in London.[citation needed]

Publications

Fiction

  • Submarine. Hamish Hamilton. 2008. ISBN 978-0241143964.
  • Wild Abandon. Penguin. 2012. ISBN 978-0141033952.
  • The Adulterants. Hamish Hamilton. 2018. ISBN 978-0241305478.

Non-fiction

Poetry

Other media

Film

  • Submarine

Radio

  • Half Life
  • The Accident Report Book

References

  1. ↑ Metcalfe, Anna (22 June 2012). "Small talk: Joe Dunthorne". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  2. ↑ @joe_dunthorne; (14 January 2025). "It's my birthday and I'll self-promote if I want to. 🎉 | It was nice to see Children of Radium on some 2025 lists courtesy of The Guardian/Waterstones/B&N". Retrieved 1 November 2026 – via Instagram. [better source needed]
  3. ↑ Dunthorne, Joe (2008). "Acknowledgements". Submarine. Hamish Hamilton. p. 291. ISBN 978-0241143964.
  4. ↑ "Shooting of movie adaptation surreal experience for writer". This is South Wales (Interview). 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 3 June 2012.
  5. ↑ "UEA Live: writers' festival launches free autumn line-up" (Press release). Uinversity of East Anglia. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  6. ↑ "Writers | Joe Dunthorne". British Council. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011.
  7. ↑ "The Curtis Brown Award". University of East Anglia. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013.
  8. ↑ Frenette, Brad (27 July 2010). "Toronto International Film Fest announces 2010 lineup". National Post. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  9. ↑ "And the 2015–16 Faber New Poets are..." Faber & Faber. 11 November 2015. Archived from the original on 28 November 2018.
  10. ↑ "Poetry opportunities | Faber New Poets". Poetry Society. Archived from the original on 2 May 2018.
  11. ↑ Self, John (8 April 2025). "Children of Radium — Joe Dunthorne's family memoir balances trust and doubt". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  12. ↑ Submarine at IMDb
  13. ↑ "Half-Life". The History Podcast. 1 May 2025. BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 1 November 2026.
  14. ↑ "The Accident Report Book by Joe Dunthorne". BBC Radio 4. 10 November 2025. Retrieved 1 November 2026.