Novelist and columnist honoured

Caitlin Moran

The award winning novelist and Times columnist Caitlin Moran was honoured as Fellow of Aberystwyth University on Friday 13 July.

Caitlin Moran was presented as Fellow by Rebecca Davies, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Student and Staff Services at Aberystwyth University.

Presentation of Caitlin Moran as Fellow:
“Caitlin Moran wrote her first novel at 15, joined the Melody Maker at 16 and has presented music shows on Channel 4.

She is a leading columnist on the Times, winning the British Press Awards’ Columnist of The Year award in 2010 and Critic and Interviewer of the Year in 2011.

As a follower of her tweets, I had noticed a few references to Aberystwyth and then she wrote a fantastic article on "why She loves Aberystwyth". Rarely has anyone captured more clearly the sense of place for us here, and I'm sure all of us as graduates, friends and family will recognise her description of our wonderful town:

There was something so perfect about Aber that it halted my lifelong internal monologue. I needed silence to take the place in fully. It had a Gothic university like a castle, castle ruins like a smashed cake, a clifftop Victorian theme park... and then — slicing the town in half like a fabulous blindness — the cold, hard, glitter-glue of the sea. Apparently, dolphins chased by the rock pools at dawn.

And though I can't often claim to see the dolphins at dawn, they are out there and can only hope that we have remembered to send them their invite to today's graduation. 

In 2011 she published her latest book, which is a part memoir, part rant on How To Be A Woman – following her from her terrible 13th birthday through adolescence, TopShop, motherhood and beyond.

This book has won a plethora of awards, including: Galaxy Book of the Year 2011; Galaxy Popular Non-Fiction Award; Irish Book Award (RTE Listeners Choice) and most importantly, saw me through a 5.15am train trip from Aberystwyth to Wolverhampton.

Caitlin did mention her favourite place in the whole world Aberystwyth South beach in her book and I would like to introduce you to Caitlin Moran, fellow of Aberystwyth University. And I hope that you, like me will recognise that we, like Caitlin when we came to Aberystwyth, “something in her heart twanged. It wasn’t like falling in love. I just felt … not unhappy any more.”

Eight new Fellows are being honoured by Aberystwyth University at this year’s ceremonies which take place between Tuesday 10 and Friday 13 July.

The title of Fellow is awarded to honour distinguished people who have a close association with Aberystwyth University or who have made an outstanding contribution to professional or public life in Wales.

The 2012 Fellows are the actor Michael Sheen, TV presenter Alex Jones, Professor Michael Clarke, Director of the Royal United Services Institute, Mark Price, Managing Director of Waitrose, Dr Jan Jaroslav Pinkava, Oscar winner, Rev. John Gwilym Jones, Former Archdruid of Wales, Caitlin Moran, Broadcaster, TV critic and columnist, and Judge Sir David Lloyd Jones.

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