Biography
William Dalrymple was born and brought up in Scotland. He wrote his first book, In Xanadu: A Quest (1989), at 22 years of age, and in 1989, moved to Delhi to research City of Djinns: a year in Delhi (1993), which went on to win the 1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award.
His next book, From the Holy Mountain: a Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium (1997), charts the demise of Christianity in the Middle East, and this was followed by The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters (1998), a collection of writings about India, which won the French Prix d'Astrolabe.
William Dalrymple also wrote and presented the television series Stones of the Raj and Indian Journeys, which won a BAFTA Award for Best Documentary Series. His Radio 4 series, The Long Search, also won the 2002 Sandford St. Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting.
White Mughals (2002), the book which marked Dalrymple's shift from travel writing to history, won the 2003 Woolfson Prize for History, and the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award. A stage version by Christopher Hampton has been commissioned by the National Theatre and the Tamasha Theatre Company.
In 2006, William Dalrymple published The Last Mughal: the Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857 to huge acclaim, topping the best seller lists in both the UK and India.
In 2002, he won the Royal Geographical Society Mungo Park Medal for his outstanding contribution to travel literature. In 2006 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Letters from the University of St. Andrews for his services to literature and international relations. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and of the Royal Asiatic Society, and lives between London and Delhi.
William Dalrymple Festival Appearances
Port Eliot, Saltash, Cornwall, 24-26 July, 2009
Bibliography
In Xanadu: A Quest Collins, 1989
City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi (illustrated by Olivia Fraser) HarperCollins, 1993
From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium HarperCollins, 1997
The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters HarperCollins, 1998
White Mughals HarperCollins, 2002
The Last Mughal: The Fall of a Dynasty, Delhi, 1857 Bloomsbury, 2006
Prizes and awards
1990 John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize (shortlist) In Xanadu: A Quest
1990 Scottish Arts Council Book Award In Xanadu: A Quest
1990 Yorkshire Post Book Award (Best First Work) In Xanadu: A Quest
1994 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
1994 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award City of Djinns: A Year in Delhi
1997 Scottish Arts Council Book Award From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium
1998 Duff Cooper Prize From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium
1998 John Llewellyn-Rhys Memorial Prize (shortlist) From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium
1998 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award (shortlist) From the Holy Mountain: A Journey in the Shadow of Byzantium
2002 BAFTA (Best Documentary Series) Indian Journeys
2002 Royal Geographical Society Mungo Park Medal
2002 Sandford St. Martin Prize for Religious Broadcasting The Long Search
2003 James Tait Black Memorial Prize (shortlist) White Mughals
2003 Kiryiama Prize (shortlist) White Mughals
2003 PEN History Award (shortlist) White Mughals
2003 Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year Award White Mughals
2003 Wolfson Prize for History White Mughals
2005 FPA Media Award (best print article)
2005 Prix d'Astrolabe The Age of Kali: Indian Travels and Encounters
2005 Sykes Medal of the Royal Society of Asiatic Affairs
