birth_place nationality birth_date period article_title name occupation
ely , england british 30 march 1966 1994-present nicola barker
 nicola barker novelist
nicola barker

nicola barker -lrb- born 30 march 1966 -rrb- is an english novelist and short story writer .
she was born in ely , cambridgeshire , england . .
when she was still young her parents left england and settled in south africa .
as a child she had a bout of bronchial pneumonia which damaged the pineal gland and led to fits .
it left her with a sleep disorder .
typically she writes about damaged or eccentric people in mundane situations , and has a fondness for bleak , isolated settings .
`` wide open '' and `` behindlings '' are set respectively on the isle of sheppey and canvey island .
her 2004 novel , `` clear '' , is set in london during david blaine 's `` above the below '' 44 day fast in london in 2003 .
barker 's novel `` darkmans '' won the 2008 hawthornden prize .
patrick ness ' guardian review described the book as `` phenomenally good '' despite it being a `` 838-page epic with little describable plot , taking place over just a few days and set in ... ashford ''
