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Geraldine McCaughrean

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Geraldine McCaughrean
BornGeraldine Jones
(1951-06-06) June 6, 1951 (age 73)
London, England
OccupationAuthor of children's books
Notable works
Notable awards
SpouseJohn McCaughrean
Children1

Geraldine McCaughrean (/məˈkɔːkrən/ mə-KAWK-rən;[1] born 6 June 1951)[2] is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide.[3] She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Personal life and education

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McCaughrean was born 6 June 1951 in London to Leslie Arthur and Ethel Jones.[2] The youngest of three children, she grew up in North London. McCaughrean attended Southgate Technical College from 1969 to 1970, then received a Bachelor of Education with honors from Christ Church College, Canterbury in 1977.[2]

McCaughrean is married to John McCaughrean, with whom she has a daughter: Ailsa.[2]

Career

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McCaughrean studied teaching but found her true vocation in writing. She claims that what makes her love writing is the desire to escape from an unsatisfactory world.[citation needed] Her motto is: do not write about what you know, write about what you want to know.[citation needed]

McCaughrean's work includes many retellings of classic stories for children: The Odyssey, El Cid, The Canterbury Tales, The Pilgrim's Progress, Moby Dick, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights and Gilgamesh.

J. M. Barrie gave all rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929, and in 2004, to coincide with Peter Pan's centenary, the hospital launched a competition to find the author of a sequel. McCaughrean won the competition, after submitting a synopsis and a sample chapter. Peter Pan in Scarlet was released internationally on 5 October 2006, published in the UK by Oxford University Press and in the US by Simon & Schuster.

McCaughrean has written many other children's fiction books including The Kite Rider, The Stones Are Hatching, and Plundering Paradise. She has also written six historical novels for adults including: The Maypole (1990), Fire's Astonishment (1991), Lovesong (1996) and The Ideal Wife (1997).

As of 2013, McCaughrean has launched an online novel based on the Hylas and Hercules myth, A Thousand Kinds of Ugly.

Awards and honours

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For her lifetime contribution as a children's writer, McCaughrean was the British nominee in 2004 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books.[4] She was elected an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University in 2006 and a Fellow of the English Association in 2010. She has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 2010.[5]

Four of McCaughrean's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Not the End of the World (2005),[6] The White Darkness (2007),[7] The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen (2011),[8] and Where the World Ends (2020).[9]

In 2002, The Horn Book Magazine included The Kite Rider on their list of the best children's fiction of the year.[10]

In 2020, Booklist included Where the World Ends on their "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth" list.[11]

Awards for McCaughrean's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
1987 A Little Lower Than the Angels Whitbread Award for Children's Book Winner [12]
1988 A Pack of Lies Carnegie Medal Winner [13][14][15]
1989 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Winner [16][17]
1994 Gold Dust Whitbread Award for Children's Book Winner [12][18]
1996 Plundering Paradise Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (6–8 years) Bronze [citation needed]
Whitbread Award for Children's Book Shortlist [12][18]
2000 A Pilgrim's Progress Blue Peter Book Award for Book of the Year Winner [citation needed]
2001 The Kite Rider Blue Peter Book Award for Best Book to Keep Forever Winner [citation needed]
Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (9–11 years) Bronze [citation needed]
2002 Stop the Train Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (9–11 years) Bronze [citation needed]
Carnegie Medal Highly commended [19]
2004 Smile! Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (6–8 years) Bronze [20]
Not the End of the World Whitbread Award for Children's Book Winner [12][18]
2005 The White Darkness Whitbread Award for Children's Book Shortlist [12]
2006 A Pack of Lies ALSC Notable Children's Recordings Selection [21]
2007 The White Darkness Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth Selection [22][23]
Stop the Train! Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults| Selection [24]
2008 The White Darkness ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection [25][26]
2008 Michael L. Printz Award Winner [27][28]
2011 The Death-Defying Pepper Roux ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection [29]
American Library Association Rainbow List Top 10 [30]
2018 Where the World Ends Carnegie Medal Winner [15][31][32]
Independent Bookshop Week Book Award Winner [33]
2020 Michael L. Printz Award Honor [9][34]

Selected bibliography

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References

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  1. ^ "Geraldine McCaughrean" in Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, entry updated 30 september 2001.
  2. ^ a b c d "McCaughrean, Geraldine 1951-". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ^ "geraldinemccaughrean". geraldinemccaughrean. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
  4. ^ "2004" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Hans Christian Andersen Awards. International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).
      "Hans Christian Andersen Awards" Archived 20 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. IBBY. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
  5. ^ "RSL Fellows". The Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
  6. ^ "Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  7. ^ "The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  8. ^ "The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  10. ^ "Horn Book Fanfare 1938 to present". The Horn Book. 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  11. ^ Smith, Julia (15 May 2020). "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth: 2020". Booklist. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Past Winners" (PDF). Costa Book Awards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Archive". The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  14. ^ (Carnegie Winner 1988) Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  15. ^ a b "Awards: CILIP Carnegie, Kate Greenaway Medals; Miles Franklin". Shelf Awareness . 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  16. ^ "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched". The Guardian. 12 March 2001. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  17. ^ "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian 12 March 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  18. ^ a b c Rabinovitch, Dina (19 January 2005). "Author of the month: Geraldine McCaughrean". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Carnegie Medal Award" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Retrieved 13 July 2012.
  20. ^ Pauli, Michelle (8 December 2004). "Magic triumphs at Smarties prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  21. ^ "A Pack of Lies | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  22. ^ "2007 booklist editors choice youth | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  23. ^ "Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2007". Booklist. 1 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Stop the Train! | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  25. ^ "The White Darkness | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 4 March 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Best Books for Young Adults: 2008". Booklist. 1 March 2008. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  27. ^ "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books" Archived 4 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine. YALSA. American Library Association. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
  28. ^ "The White Darkness | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  29. ^ "2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  30. ^ "2011 rainbow project booklist | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  31. ^ "Geraldine McCaughrean, Sydney Smith Win 2018 Carnegie, Greenaway Medals". Publishers Weekly. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  32. ^ Flood, Alison (18 June 2018). "Carnegie medal winner slams children's book publishers for 'accessible' prose". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  33. ^ "Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2019". Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
  34. ^ "2020 Printz Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
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