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Julian Gough

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For the scientist, seeJulian Gough (scientist).

Julian Gough
BornJune 1966 (age 58)
NationalityIrish
EducationUniversity College Galway
Websitejuliangough

Julian Gough(born June 1966) is an Irishmusician,novelist,andpoet.Initially known as the singer and lyricist for theGalwaybandToasted Heretic,he has since established a career as a satirist, novelist, commentator and writer of children's books. Musically, he is best known for his songs "Galway and Los Angeles", "You can Always go Home" and "LSD (isn't what it used to be)"; his fictional works include "The Orphan and the Mob" (the first chapter of his novelJude: Level 1), which won theBBC National Short Story Awardin 2007, and theEnd Poemthat appears at the end ofMinecraft.

Career[edit]

Gough grew up nearHeathrow Airportin London, before moving toNenaghaged seven.[1]He was studying English and philosophy atUniversity College Galwayin the late 1980s when he and some friends founded Toasted Heretic. The band recorded four albums and had one top-10 hit, "Galway and Los Angeles", in 1992.[2][3]Gough's first novel,Juno & Juliet,was published in 2001 byFlamingo,almost a decade after Toasted Heretic split up. His second novel,Jude: Level 1,was published in 2007[4]at Old Street Publishing, shortly after he won the 2007National Short Story Awardfor the book's first chapter, titled "The Orphan and the Mob".[5]

In 2010, Salmon Poetry released Gough's first poetry collection,Free Sex Chocolate,which juxtaposes Gough's more recent forays into poetry with his earlier lyrics written for Toasted Heretic.[6]He is also the author of several short stories and novellas that satirize global economic policies, including 2003'sGreat Hargeisa Goat Bubble[7]andCRASH! How I Lost a Hundred Billion and Found True Love.In 2015, Gough signed a book deal withPicador.[8]

In November 2011, Gough was invited byMarkus Persson,creator ofMinecraft,to create a story for the ending of the game, in preparation for its release.[9]The resulting work, called theEnd Poem,has been described as both confusing to[10]and revered by[11]theMinecraftcommunity. After apsilocybintrip prompted Gough to consider the poem's line "The Universe loves you because you are love" and the love he had received but not accepted for the poem, he wrote an essay on hisSubstackin December 2022 explaining that he had never signed a contract with either ofMinecraft'sparent companies, releasing the original version of the poem into thepublic domain.[12][13]

Gough writes columns and opinion pieces for various newspapers and magazines, includingThe Guardian,[14] Prospect Magazine[15]andA Public Space.[16]His novelJude in Londoncame third in the 2011 Guardian Not The Booker prize[17]after the author threatened to share pictures of him "wearing only the [Not The Booker trophy] mug" should he win the competition.[18]

Since 2016, he has been the author of theRabbit and Bearseries of children's books, illustrated by Jim Field.[19]

Publications[edit]

  • I Totes Love the Christian Brothers(Self-published)
  • Juno & Juliet(Flamingo)ISBN978-0-00-710810-7
  • Jude: Level 1(Old Street)ISBN978-1-905847-24-2
  • Free Sex Chocolate(Salmon Poetry)ISBN978-1-907056-36-9
  • Jude in London(Old Street)ISBN978-1-905847-83-9
  • CONNECT a novel(Doubleday)ISBN978-0-385541-33-6
  • Trapped in a Stephen King Story: My Spiraling Descent into Madness(Macmillan, forthcoming)
  • "End Poem"fromMinecraft.

References[edit]

  1. ^Barter, Pavel (27 April 2014)."Making the Leap".The Sunday Times(Irish ed.) – viaNewsBank.
  2. ^Gough, Julian (2 October 2005)."The bedsit of horrors - Time and place".The Sunday Times(Irish ed.) – viaNewsBank.
  3. ^Murphy, Peter(4 June 2009)."Choose your top 20 indie moments!".Hot Press.
  4. ^"Writer Profile Julian Gough".Retrieved6 May2011.
  5. ^"BBC National Short Story Award".Booktrust.Retrieved6 May2011.
  6. ^"Free Sex Chocolate – Poems and Songs".salmonpoetry.Retrieved6 May2011.
  7. ^"The Great Hargeisa Goat Bubble - Julian Gough's website".juliangough.Retrieved19 June2016.
  8. ^Doyle, Martin (16 April 2015)."Julian Gough signs major book deal with Picador".The Irish Times.Retrieved19 June2016.
  9. ^Chatfield, Tom (9 January 2012)."Ending an endless game: an interview with Julian Gough, author of Minecraft's epic finale".Boing Boing.Retrieved10 June2022.
  10. ^Creswell, Jacob (26 December 2022)."DoesMinecraft's Ending Actually Mean Anything? ".Comic Book Resources.Retrieved2 May2023.
  11. ^Moloney, Eoghan (8 December 2022)."Irishman who wroteMinecraft's revered 'End Poem' gives words away for free after declining to sign over rights to Microsoft ".Irish Independent.Retrieved1 May2023.
  12. ^Gough, Julian (7 December 2022)."I wrote a story for a friend".theeggandtherock.substack.Retrieved8 December2022.
  13. ^Gault, Mtthew (8 December 2022)."Guy Who WroteMinecraft's Ending Poem Makes It Public Domain After Taking Shrooms ".Motherboard.Vice News.Retrieved2 May2023.
  14. ^Gough, Julian (17 September 2007)."A New Way With Words".The Guardian.Retrieved6 May2011.The traditional division between the novel and short story is becoming increasingly blurred.
  15. ^Gough, Julian (26 May 2007)."Divine Comedy".Prospect Magazine.Retrieved6 May2011.It's time writers got back to the serious business of making us laugh.
  16. ^Gough, Julian (2010)."Reality is a Bananaskin on Which we Must Step".A Public Space.Archived fromthe originalon 21 July 2011.Retrieved6 May2011.
  17. ^Jordison, Sam (18 October 2011)."Not the Booker prize: we have a winner!".The Guardian.Retrieved19 October2011.
  18. ^Jordison, Sam (18 August 2011)."Not the Booker prize 2011: the shortlist".The Guardian.Retrieved19 October2011.
  19. ^Brennan, Marjorie (24 August 2021)."Julian Gough: An adventurous journey from Toasted Heretic to Rabbit & Bear".Irish Examiner.Retrieved3 October2023.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Julian_Gough&oldid=1232193634"