Jenny Nimmo is a British author of numerous books for children, including many fantasy and adventure novels, beginning reader books, and picture books.

Her The Snow Spider won the Smarties Prize

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize

The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, also known as the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, was an annual award given to children's books written in the previous year by a UK citizen or resident. The prize was administered by Booktrust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading, and sponsored by...

 (1986) and the Tir na n-Og Award (1987), The Stone Mouse was highly commended for 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...

 (1995) and a number of her other books have received or been shortlisted for children's book awards. Her current series is the Charlie Bone series, in which the main character Charlie Bone's magical talent embroils him in the sinister intrigues of his new school. Originally intended as a quintet, the series has been extended to eight books.

Biography

Jenny Nimmo was born in Windsor, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. She was an only child, and her father died when she was five. :( According to a short article by the American publisher of the series

Scholastic Press

Scholastic is a global book publishing company known for publishing educational materials for schools, teachers, and parents, and selling and distributing them by mail order and via book clubs and book fairs. It also has the exclusive United States' publishing rights to the Harry Potter book...

, Nimmo was a voracious reader as a child, which led her to write her own stories to share with friends.

After working for a time in theatre, Nimmo worked for several years with the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

. Part of that time was spent adapting other writers' stories for television. Her first book, The Bronze Trumpeter, began life as a television script.

In 1974, she married David Wynn Millward, an artist and illustrator. She has three children (one of whom is the illustrator Gwen Millward) and currently lives in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, sharing her time between writing and helping her husband with a summer art school.

Selected works

• The Bronze Trumpeter (1974)

• The Magician Trilogy
  The Magician Trilogy
  The Magician Trilogy, also published in an omnibus edition as The Snow Spider Trilogy, is a trilogy of children's fantasy novels by Jenny Nimmo, author of the Children of the Red King series...
  
  
  • The Snow Spider (1986)
  • Emlyn's Moon (1987)
  • The Chestnut Soldier (1989)
• Ultramarine (1990)
• Rainbow and Mr. Zed (1992); sequel to Ultramarine
• The Stone Mouse (1993)
• The Witches and the Singing Mice (1993)
• Griffin's Castle (1994)
• The Owl Tree
  The Owl Tree
  The Owl Tree is a novella by Jenny Nimmo which was released in 1997. The story is about a boy, Joe, who tries to save an owl tree which his grandmother Granny Diamond is fond of and her neighbour, Mr Rock, intends to cut down.-Plot:...
  
   (1997)
• The Rinaldi Ring (1999)
• Toby in the Dark (1999)
• Milo's Wolves (2001)
• The Beasties (2010) (illustrated by Gwen Millward)

• Children of the Red King
  Children of the Red King
  Children of the Red King is a popular series of children's fantasy and adventure novels written by British author Jenny Nimmo. It is also known as the "Charlie Bone" series and, before it was extended to eight books, as the "Red King Quintet"....
  
   series

1. Midnight for Charlie Bone (2002)
2. The Time Twister (2003) (US title: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister)
3. The Blue Boa (2004) (US title: Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy)
4. The Castle of Mirrors (2005) (US title: Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors)
5. Charlie Bone and the Hidden King (2006)
6. Charlie Bone and the Wilderness Wolf (2007) (US title: Charlie Bone and the Beast)
7. Charlie Bone and the Shadow of Badlock (2008) (US title: Charlie Bone and the Shadow)
8. Charlie Bone and the Red Knight (Sept 2009) (US May 2010)

1. Chronicles of the Red King series
2. The Secret Kingdom (2011)

External links

• Official Author Website
• Fantastic Fiction Author Page
• Official website for Charlie Bone, Children of the Red King
• Jenny Nimmo at House of Legends
• Jenny Nimmo at Random House Australia
• http://www.jennynimmo.moonfruit.com