Photo: Larry D. Moore / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Alan Hollinghurst, born on May 26, 1954 in Stroud, United Kingdom, is a writer, translator and literary critic. Alan Hollinghurst is 72 years old as of 2026. Schooling on record includes Magdalen College. Awards on record include James Tait Black Memorial Prize (2004), Lambda Literary Award, Eric Gregory Award (1979) and 5 more. Credited works include The Swimming-Pool Library, The Folding Star and The Spell.
My Take
Alan Hollinghurst is, to me, one of the bravest novelists of his generation, and not merely a Booker laureate. Winning the 2004 prize for The Line of Beauty mattered, but his real achievement was dragging gay-themed fiction into the literary mainstream through prose so elegant that critics could not dismiss it. From The Swimming-Pool Library onward, he wrote with precision rather than provocation. An Oxford-trained poet, translator and critic, he treats sentences as architecture. I trust writers who pursue what must be written instead of what sells, and Hollinghurst has spent decades doing exactly that. His courage is quiet, but it reshaped a genre.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Alan Hollinghurst
- Name (Japanese)
- アラン・ホリングハースト
- Reading
- あらん・ほりんぐはーすと
- Born
- May 26, 1954 (age 72)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Gemini / Horse
- Origin
- Stroud, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- writer / translator / literary critic / university teacher / poet
2. Background
- University
- Magdalen College
Awards & achievements
- 2004 James Tait Black Memorial Prize
- Lambda Literary Award
- 1979 Eric Gregory Award
- 1989 Stonewall Book Award
- 1991 E. M. Forster Award
- 2004 Booker Prize
- 1974 Newdigate Prize
- 2011 Bill Whitehead Award
3. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | The Swimming-Pool Library | — | |
| Notable work | The Folding Star | — | |
| Notable work | The Spell | — | |
| Notable work | The Line of Beauty | — |
4. Links
5. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-21
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Alan Hollinghurst born?
Born May 26, 1954 (age 72).
Where is Alan Hollinghurst from?
Alan Hollinghurst is from Stroud, United Kingdom.
What does Alan Hollinghurst do?
Alan Hollinghurst works as writer, translator, literary critic, university teacher, poet.
What is Alan Hollinghurst known for?
Notable works include The Swimming-Pool Library, The Folding Star, The Spell.
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