Ian Russell McEwan is an novelist and screenwriter. In 2008, The Times featured him on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945" and The Daily Telegraph ranked him number 19 in its list of the "100 most powerful people in British culture".McEwan began his career writing sparse, short stories. His first two novels, The Cement Garden and The Comfort of Strangers, earned him the nickname "". These were followed by novels of some success in the 1980s and early 1990s. His novel was adapted into a film of the same name.He won with Amsterdam. His following novel, , garnered acclaim and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film starring Keira Knightley and James McAvoy. His later novels have included , , and .