Zoë Heller

English journalist and novelist

Zoë Heller

Heller in 2007

Born|

Zoë Kate Hinde Heller

(1965-07-07) 7 July 1965 (age 59)

St Pancras, London, England

Alma mater| St Anne's College, Oxford
Columbia University (M.A.)
Occupation(s)| Journalist, novelist
Spouse| Lawrence Konner (separated)[1]
Children| 2
Parent(s)| Lukas Heller
Caroline Carter Heller
Relatives| Bruno Heller (brother)
Cordelia Edvardson (aunt)
Hermann Heller (grandfather)

Zoë Kate Hinde Heller (born 7 July 1965) is an English journalist and novelist long resident in New York City. She has published three novels, Everything You Know (1999), Notes on a Scandal (2003), and The Believers (2008). Notes on a Scandal was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was adapted for a feature film in 2006.

## Biography

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### Early life

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Heller was born in St Pancras, north London, as the youngest of four children of Caroline (née Carter) and Lukas Heller, a successful screenwriter; her parents separated when she was five.[2] Her father was a German Jewish immigrant and her mother was English and a Quaker.[3][4] Her paternal grandfather was the political philosopher Hermann Heller.[5] Her brother is screenwriter Bruno Heller. Her sister, Lucy Heller, is Chief Executive of education charity Ark[6] and previously Managing Director of Times Supplements Ltd, the former educational publishing wing of News UK.

She attended Haverstock School in north London where she was a contemporary of David Miliband[7] and then studied English at St Anne's College, Oxford, gaining a first, before going on to Columbia University, New York where she received an MA on Marxist theories of literature and Jonathan Swift.[2][8]

### Career

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After a period at the UK publisher Chatto and a spell as a freelance book reviewer, Heller was taken on as a staff feature writer for The Independent on Sunday.[7] She later returned to New York in the early 1990s contracted to write for Vanity Fair. Deputizing for Nick Hornby while he was on holiday led to her reputation as a confessional writer.[7] She wrote for The New Yorker, a weekly column for The Sunday Times Magazine in the UK,[9] and was a columnist for The Daily Telegraph, for which she won the British Press Awards' "Columnist of the Year" in 2002.[10] She co-wrote the screenplay for the independent film, Twenty-One (1991).

## Publications

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Heller has published three novels, Everything You Know (1999), Notes on a Scandal (2003), which was one of six books shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was made into a film in 2006, and The Believers (2008). The Believers was shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award in 2010.[9]

In 2009, she donated the short story What She Did On Her Summer Vacation to Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38 authors. Her story was published in the 'Water' collection.[11]

## Personal life

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In 2006, she married screenwriter Lawrence Konner in a "minimally" Jewish ceremony;[12] the couple separated in 2010.[1] Heller lives in New York City with her two daughters, Lula and Frankie.[1]

## References

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1. ^ a b c Eden, Richard (12 December 2010). "Notes on a Scandal author Zoë Heller 'leaves her Hollywood screenwriter husband". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
2. ^ a b "And for her next trick, perfection, Profile: Zoe Heller". The Sunday Times. 31 August 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
3. ^ Nathan, John (24 June 2009). "Two giants of literature — and one big question". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
4. ^ Cohen, Patricia (25 February 2009). "Not Much Sympathy for Zoë Heller's Characters, but a Little Understanding". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
5. ^ "WEDDINGS; Miranda Cowley And Bruno Heller". The New York Times. 20 June 1993.
6. ^ "Lucy Heller". ucl.ac.uk. 26 July 2018.
7. ^ a b c Leith, Sam (13 September 2008). "Zoë Heller: Metamorphosis". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
8. ^ Vincent, Sally (24 May 2003). "But seriously". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
9. ^ a b "Zoe Heller". British Council. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
10. ^ Birnbaum, Robert (29 July 2004). "Zoe Heller". The Morning News. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
11. ^ "Ox-Tales". Oxfam. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
12. ^ McKay, Alastair (22 January 2007). "Teacher-pupil affairs: That's not the real scandal". Evening Standard. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

## External links

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* Zoë Heller at IMDb
* "Zoë Heller : 'I loathe myself by the end of each week'", independent.co.uk; accessed 31 January 2015.
* Jewish Chronicle, "Heller goes to Hollywood", 16 February 2007, p. 29.
* Heller's Writings, tnr.com; accessed 31 January 2015.

### Video clips

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* Interview with Allan Gregg in Canada

Authority control databases

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* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

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* BnF data
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Other|

* IdRef