Atkinson, Kate

The British author Kate Atkinson was born in York, her father was a shopkeeper. She read English literature at Dundee University, graduating with an MA in 1974. She did postgraduate studies in American literature, but left university and worked as a legal secretary, home help and teacher. She began her writing career by publishing romantic short stories in women’s magazines. Kate Atkinson has been married twice and she has two daughters. She settled in Whitby, North Yorkshire, after leaving university, but now lives in Edinburgh. Her career took a major leap forward after she won a short story competition in 1988.