Abigail Tarttelin

Abigail Tarttelin
Born13 October 1987 (1987-10-13) (age 38)
Grimsby, England
OccupationsAuthor, Actress, Presenter
Known forGolden Boy
From Below The Balcony
Websitewww.abigailtarttelin.com Edit this at Wikidata

Abigail Tarttelin (born 13 October 1987) is an English writer, actress, and podcast presenter.

Early life

Tarttelin was born in Grimsby, Humberside (now North East Lincolnshire). At the age of 16 she trained with the National Youth Theatre, and later the New York Film Academy school in France where she acted in various short films.[1]

Career

Film and television

Tarttelin's first prominent role was Fenella in The Butterfly Tattoo, adapted from the Philip Pullman novel of the same name. Following this she played the lead in independent sci-fi film Triple Hit (previously titled Schrödinger's Girl) portraying three versions of the same woman in parallel worlds.[2] She also attended the Cannes Film Festival and San Diego Comic-Con with both films.[3] In 2010 she appeared in bilingual thriller Taxi Rider.[4]

Tarttelin has also appeared in the British comedy films, Beyond the Pole starring Stephen Mangan, Acts of Godfrey, starring Simon Callow, Harry Enfield, and Celia Imrie, and award winning[5] independent sci-fi film Whatever Happened to Pete Blaggit?.

As a screenwriter she has worked with Academy Award short film shortlist[6] filmmaker Chris Jones,[3] and wrote the screenplay for the TV pilot The Danelaw which she also directed. Other projects as director include four music videos, two of which were for her own band GIRLBOY, plus trailers for all three of her novels Flick, Golden Boy, and Dead Girls.[7]

Her involvement with Equity saw her elected as Chairperson for the inaugural Young Members' Committee, [8] and in 2016 was a judge for the British Independent Film Awards.[9]

Writing

Tarttelin's debut novel, Flick, was first published by Beautiful Books in April 2011, then republished in 2015 by W&N. The story follows a disaffected teenage boy named Flick in a small factory town in northern England, where "bleak and sometimes treacherous circumstances make the taste of a love affair even sweeter." It was hailed "a slow-burn cult classic" by GQ who found it "both authentic and compelling"[10]

In 2013, she published her second novel Golden Boy, about an intersex teenager. It has since been published in Chinese,[11] Spanish[12] and Portuguese.[13] It won a 2014 Alex Award from the American Library Association,[14] was one of School Library Journal's best books of 2013,[15] and was shortlisted for the 2014 LAMBDA Award for Best Debut LGBT Fiction.[16] The book has been well received by readers and the film rights are also in discussion.[17][18][19][20][21]

Her third novel, Dead Girls, was published in 2018. It is set in a small English village and is narrated in first person by eleven-year-old Thera Wilde, who takes matters into her own hands following the sudden disappearance of her best friend.[22]

Tartellin has also published short fiction as well as exceprts from longer, previously unpublished works on her official website,[23][24] and has two forthcoming novels, Remontada,[25] and Ordinary Woman Turns 30.[26]

Non-fiction publications she has written for include Glamour, The New York Times, The Guardian, The Independent, and Huffpost.[27]

Podcasts

In 2024 Tarttelin hosted the Arts Council England funded podcast Writing Coercive Control, which she produced in association with Clear Lines Festival. Six episodes were released in which she interviewed six female authors about how they incorporated ideas relating to coercive control in their work.[28]

The following year she began co-presenting From Below the Balcony, a podcast produced by British campign group Republic, where she interviews vocal republicans, most notably journalists and politicians, from across the British Commonwealth about their experiences with the British Monarchy and reasons for supporting republicanism.[29]

Personal life

Tarttelin identifies as queer.[30]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2006 La Geode Unnamed female lead Student short film [31]
2008 Jack Says Club Waitress
The Butterfly Tattoo Fenella Adapted from the novel by Philip Pullman
2009 Triple Hit Rebecca/Anastasia/Sarah Also titled Schrödinger's Girl
Beyond the Pole Airline Passenger (uncredited)
Adrift Maki Student short film
2010 Taxi Rider Beverly Short film
2011 Acts of Godfrey Beauty Therapist (uncredited) 2011 British Independent Film Awards nominee, "Raindance Award"
Whatever Happened to Pete Blaggit? Nurse Chéri LeFou 2011 British Independent Film Festival award winner, "Best Feature Film"
2016 The Danelaw Frankie TV Pilot, also writer and director
2017 Catcalling Virgin N/a Short film, additional writing [32]

Bibliography

  • Flick, London, April 2011. ISBN 978-1907616181
  • Golden Boy, London, W&N, 9 May 2013. ISBN 978-0297870944
  • Dead Girls, London, Pan MacMillan 03 May 2018. ISBN 978-1509852741

Recognition and honours

In 2009 she was one of two actresses listed in Moviescope magazine's "ones to watch" selection of British artists working in independent film.

Her novel Golden Boy, was described as a "dazzling debut" by Oprah's Book Club.[33] Published in 2013, the book was translated into several languages[34][35][36] and placed her on the Evening Standard's 2013 "25 people under 25" list.[37] She is a 2014 recipient of the Alex Awards.[14]

References

  1. ↑ "Nomad•ness gal: Abigail Tarttelin's London bite". Archived from the original on 23 August 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "Entanglement Productions". Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Abigail Tarttelin". Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2026
  4. ↑ "Production co. website". Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  5. ↑ "BiFF 2011 - Film Festival Guild". Archived from the original on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Shortlist Announced".
  7. ↑ Directing Work Retrieved 03 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Equity Young Member's Committee Retrieved 3 May 2026
  9. ↑ Abigail Tarttelin | Retrieved 3 May 2026
  10. ↑ "Flick by Abigail Tarttelin Review - GQ Books - GQ.COM (UK)". Archived from the original on 27 May 2011. Retrieved 17 June 2011.
  11. ↑ 不能說的病歷書 / Bu neng shuo de bing li shu, WorldCat, 2013
  12. ↑ El chico de oro, WorldCat, 2013
  13. ↑ Menino De Ouro Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Livraria da Folha, 2013
  14. 1 2 "YALSA's Alex Awards. 2014 Winners". 27 February 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  15. ↑ "SLJ Best Books 2013 Adult Books 4 Teens". School Library Journal. 13 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "Winners of the 26th Annual Lambda Literary Awards Announced". 3 June 2014.
  17. ↑ Meet Max, 16, a Golden Boy and intersex Archived 13 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine, GayStarNews, 31 May 2013
  18. ↑ Clare Calvet's Book of the Week: Golden Boy - Nightlife - (ABC), Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 19 June 2013.
  19. ↑ Three Reasons This Intersex Lesbian Loved Abigail Tarttelin’s "Golden Boy", Hida Viloria at Autostraddle, 6 August 2013.
  20. ↑ They asked me to name my price: how Abigail Tarttelin went from waitress to hot young author with a £100,000 advance, Evening Standard, 23 May 2013.
  21. ↑ Interview with Abigail Tarttelin, Mandy Huckins at The Washington Independent Review of Books, 16 May 2013.
  22. ↑ Dead Girls Retrieved 4 May 2026
  23. ↑ Fiction #8, Kiyokoma Dayze Retrieved 4 May 2026
  24. ↑ Fiction #4, Young Girls Retrieved 4 May 2026
  25. ↑ Fiction #1, the football novel Retrieved 4 May 2026
  26. ↑ Intro to my Arts Council England-funded novel, about turning 30 in Hackney Retrieved 4 May 2026
  27. ↑ Meet Abigail Retrieved 3 May 2026
  28. ↑ Writing Coercive Control Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  29. ↑ From Below the Balcony. Retrieved 03 May 2026.
  30. ↑ Abigail Tarttelin Retrieved 3 May 2026.
  31. ↑ La Geode Retrieved 03 May 2026
  32. ↑ Abigail Tarttelin Retrieved 03 May 2026
  33. ↑ 10 Dazzling Debut Novels to Pick Up Right Now, Oprah's Book Club
  34. ↑ El chico de oro, World Cat
  35. ↑ Menino De Ouro getting some air time! Archived 3 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Abigail Tarttelin, 3 December 2013
  36. ↑ 不能說的病歷書 / Bu neng shuo de bing li shu, World Cat
  37. ↑ "The Power 1000 - London's most influential people 2013: Generation". 19 September 2013.


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