Photo: Taken by Flickr user Walnut Whippet at the 2006 Humber Mouth Festival / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on August 19, 1961 in Birmingham, United Kingdom, Jonathan Coe is a novelist, journalist and biographer. That puts Jonathan Coe at 64 years old in 2026. Education on record includes Trinity College. Recorded honors include John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize (2001), Prix Médicis étranger (1998) and 3 more. Credited works include What a Carve Up!.
My Take
Jonathan Coe is, to my mind, one of the smartest satirists working in English fiction. What I admire most is his refusal to lecture; he carries sharp political concerns yet delivers them through comedy and satire, as in What a Carve Up!, where he reworks an old spoof horror film to skewer British society. That, I think, is what real intelligence looks like on the page. His many prizes are well earned, but the quality I treasure is the coexistence of warmth and bite, an affection for England paired with relentless irony. A writer who makes you laugh first and think second is exactly my kind of author.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jonathan Coe
- Name (Japanese)
- ジョナサン・コー
- Reading
- じょなさん・こー
- Born
- August 19, 1961 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Leo / Ox
- Origin
- Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Occupation
- novelist / journalist / biographer / children's writer / writer
2. Background
- University
- Trinity College
Awards & achievements
- John Llewellyn Rhys Prize
- 2001 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
- 1998 Prix Médicis étranger
- 2012 Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
- 2005 Baillie Gifford Prize
3. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | What a Carve Up! | — |
4. Links
- Official sitehttps://jonathancoewriter.com
- Xhttps://x.com/jonathancoe
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan%20Coe
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q734278
5. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-23
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 Jonathan Coe born?
Born August 19, 1961 (age 64).
Where is Jonathan Coe from?
Jonathan Coe is from Birmingham, United Kingdom.
What does Jonathan Coe do?
Jonathan Coe works as novelist, journalist, biographer, children's writer, writer.
What is Jonathan Coe known for?
Notable works include What a Carve Up!.
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