More sad news to report. British author Gordon Burn died on Friday, July 17 after a battle with cancer. He was 61 years old.

Burn’s editor at Faber stated that his work was “far ahead of the rest of the literary world“, and lamented the loss of “one of the great literary innovators of these times“.

Burn wrote of issues surrounding modern fame and faded celebrity and examined life through a media lens.  His 1991 novel, Alma Cogan was a fictional account of the life of British singer, Alma Cogan if she hadn’t died in the ’60s.  He won the Whitbread Award for Best First Novel with this book.

Burn also wrote non-fiction, mostly on the topics of sport and true crime.  He examimed the “Yorkshire Ripper” in his first book Somebody’s Husband, Somebody’s Son.

Because of  my own background, I must also note that Gordon Burn was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne on January 16, 1948.

Signed copies of Burn’s books are available at reasonable prices.