Geraldine McCaughrean (born 6 June 1951) is a British children's novelist

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

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The youngest of three children, McCaughrean studied teaching but did not like it, and found her true vocation in writing. She claims that what makes her love writing is the desire to escape from an unsatisfactory world. Her motto is: do not write about what you know, write about what you want to know.

Literary career

McCaughrean has written more than 150 books, and won numerous prizes, including:

• The Carnegie Medal
  Carnegie Medal
  The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...
  
   in 1988 and the Guardian Prize
  Guardian Award
  The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of children's literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the United Kingdom during the preceding year. The award has been given annually since 1967, and is decided by a panel of authors and the...
  
   in 1989 for A Pack of Lies
  A Pack of Lies
  A Pack of Lies is a children's novel with metafictional elements by Geraldine McCaughrean, first published in 1988. The novel includes a collection of ten short stories of widely varying type and setting...
  
  
• The first Blue Peter Book of the Year in 2000 for A Pilgrim's Progress
• The Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1987 for A Little Lower Than the Angels
• The Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1994 for Gold Dust
• The Whitbread Children's Book Award in 2004 for Not the End of the World
• The Michael L. Printz Award
  Michael L. Printz Award
  The Michael L. Printz Award is an annual award in the United States for a book that exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature. It is named for a school librarian from Topeka, Kansas, who was a long-time active member of the Young Adult Library Services Association...
  
   in 2008 for The White Darkness
  The White Darkness
  The White Darkness is a novel by Geraldine McCaughrean, published in 2007 by HarperTeen. It won the 2008 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association....
  
  

In being short-listed for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2011 with The Death Defying Pepper Roux, McCaughrean became the first author to have had six titles short-listed, with at least one during each of the last four decades.

McCaughrean has also won awards for her writing in Germany and America, and has been translated into 42 languages worldwide. Her work includes many retellings for children: The Odyssey, El Cid

El Cid

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar , known as El Cid Campeador , was a Castilian nobleman, military leader, and diplomat...

, The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at...

, A Pilgrims Progress, Moby Dick, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights and Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq , placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian king list he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription, Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of...

. In 2005, she was selected by Great Ormond Street Hospital

Great Ormond Street Hospital

Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children is a children's hospital located in London, United Kingdom...

 to write an official sequel to J. M. Barrie

J. M. Barrie

Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright...

's Peter Pan

Peter Pan

Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...

, titled Peter Pan in Scarlet

Peter Pan in Scarlet

Peter Pan in Scarlet is a novel by Geraldine McCaughrean. It is an official sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter and Wendy, authorised by Great Ormond Street Hospital, to whom Barrie granted all rights to the character and original writings in 1929...

.

McCaughrean was elected an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University

Canterbury Christ Church University is a university in Canterbury, Kent, England. Founded as a Church of England college for teaching training it has grown to full university status and will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2012. The focus of its work is in the education of people going into...

, in 2006.
She was elected a Fellow of the English Association

English Association

The English Association is a British association dedicated to furthering the study of English language and literature in schools, higher education institutes and amongst the public in general....

 in 2010
She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature

Royal Society of Literature

The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...

 in 2010.

She has written six historical novels for adults and many children's fiction books, including The Kite Rider

The Kite Rider

The Kite Rider is an award-winning children's novel written by Geraldine McCaughrean.The story, set in the ancient Chinese Song Dynasty , concerns a boy named Haoyou Gou. At the beginning of the book, Gou Pei is showing Haoyou around the Chabi, Pei's ship, before he sets off somewhere around the...

, The Stones Are Hatching

The Stones Are Hatching

The Stones Are Hatching is a young adult fantasy novel by Geraldine McCaughrean first published in November 1999 by Oxford University Press. It recounts the fictional adventures of Phelim Green and his companions as they try to prevent the Stoor Worm from waking.- Plot summary :Phelim awakes one...

, and Plundering Paradise.

External links

• Official website of Geraldine McCaughrean
• "Neverland regained": a review in the TLS by Mick Imlah, 25 October 2006