Laurie Penny
Laurie Penny (born Laura Barnett, 28 September 1986) is a British journalist and writer. Penny has written articles for publications including "The Guardian," "The New York Times" and "Salon", is a contributing editor at the "New Statesman" and is the author of several books on feminism. Penny has also written for American television shows including "The Haunting of Bly Manor" and "The Nevers". Early life and education. Penny was born in London to two lawyers of Irish, Jewish and Maltese descent, and grew up in Lewes and Brighton. Penny suffered from anorexia as a teenager and was hospitalised  with the condition aged 17. Penny later recovered from the illness and wrote about the experience from a feminist perspective in the book "Unspeakable Things". Penny attended the independent school Brighton College before studying English at Wadham College, Oxford. Career. Penny's blog "Penny Red" was launched in 2007 and was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for blogging in 2010. Penny went on to become a columnist at "The Independent" in 2012 and then as a columnist and contributing editor for the "New Statesman" and a regular contributor to "The Guardian". In April 2011, Penny presented the Channel 4 "Dispatches  programme Cashing in on Degrees". and also appeared on Channel 4's satirical current affairs programme "10 O'Clock Live" and on BBC Two's "Newsnight". In 2012, "Tatler" magazine described Penny as one of the top 100 "people who matter". In October 2012, "The Daily Telegraph" ranked Penny as the 55th most influential left-winger in Britain, describing Penny as "without doubt the loudest and most controversial female voice on the radical left", and the knowledge networking company Editorial Intelligence awarded Penny its "Twitter Public Personality" award. In 2015 Penny was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. Several of Penny 's articles have provoked criticism and ridicule, including a 2014 article for the "New Statesman" that argued short hair on women was a "political statement" and a 2015 article defending vandalism of the Monument to the Women of World War II. Publications. Penny is the author of seven books including "Bitch Doctrine", "Unspeakable Things" and "Everything Belongs to the Future". Penny's book "Penny Red: Notes from the New Age of Dissent" was shortlisted for the first Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing in 2012. Penny's seventh book, "Bitch Doctrine: Essays for Dissenting Adults", was longlisted for the  2018 Orwell Prize. Screenwriting. Penny has also written for streaming TV, contributing to episodes of the Netflix show "The Haunting of Bly Manor" and HBO's "The Nevers", and acted as a story editor on "Carnival Row". Personal life. Penny came out as genderqueer, pansexual and polyamorous in 2015. In 2020, Penny stated a preference for the pronouns they/them; but also uses she/her pronouns, although considers them to be "less accurate". In December 2020 Penny married in Los Angeles, California. Penny has stated they have Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD).