Michael Coleman (author)
Encyclopedia
Michael Coleman is a British author of children's and young-adult fiction whose book, Weirdo's War, was shortlisted for the 1996 Carnegie Medal
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Coleman is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits include Football Stories, The Ups and Downs of the Premier League (Foul Football), Flaming Olympics 2008 with Quiz Book. A native of Forest Gate
in the London Borough of Newham
, Coleman has written nearly a hundred books, including fifteen titles in the Angels FC series and five titles, The Cure, Going Straight, The Snog Log, Tag and Weirdo's War for "10 and older" readers.
tries to convey some of the magic I felt about the game of soccer by relating the weird and wonderful history of the game and the personalities it has seen over the years. On the fiction side, my series about a junior soccer team called Angels FC tries to bring out the humour and sheer fun that you’ll find at the heart of the game when it’s played by youngsters who don’t even know how to spell the word cynicism." Coleman had his first children’s book published when he was 46 years of age. He has also said: "I didn't [want to become a writer] at first. I used to teach computer science at a university and my first book was a boring one about computers. I livened it up by putting a few jokes in. At the end I thought I'd try writing a few more things, but this time forgetting about the computers and concentrating on the jokes. After lots of failures I realised that youngsters enjoy jokes more than adults and started writing for them. Eighty books later, I'm still doing it." "I write both fact and fiction. The Foul Football series are favourite fact books, simply because they're about football. On the fiction side, I'm just finishing a trilogy called The Bearkingdom. They're dark and scary, quite different to anything I've written before."
His favourite footballer is Trevor Brooking
- having been neighbours with him and versing his a couple of times as a child. His favoutrite team is West Ham. Apart from sport, his favourite subjects at school were Maths and Physics. His favourite author is Enid Blyton
, and his favourite illustrators are those of the Roy of the Rovers
comic strip in the Tiger magazine.
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...
.
Coleman is a published author of children's books and young adult books. Some of the published credits include Football Stories, The Ups and Downs of the Premier League (Foul Football), Flaming Olympics 2008 with Quiz Book. A native of Forest Gate
Forest Gate
Forest Gate is a residential area in the London Borough of Newham, 7 miles northeast of Charing Cross. It is bordered by Manor Park to the east and and to the west lies Stratford town centre. The northern half of the busy Green Street runs through it.-History:...
in the London Borough of Newham
London Borough of Newham
The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the towns of West Ham and East Ham, within East London.It is situated east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the...
, Coleman has written nearly a hundred books, including fifteen titles in the Angels FC series and five titles, The Cure, Going Straight, The Snog Log, Tag and Weirdo's War for "10 and older" readers.
Biography
Coleman was born in Forest Gate, a suburb in east London. Not long after he was born, his family moved a few miles east to Barking. At the time of his arrival, the area was just starting to recover from the damage it had received during World War II. He lived in a house on Bevan Avenue, named after Aneurin Bevan the architect of the National Health Service. He lived in that estate for 20 years. The area helped develop Coleman's love of sport due to the oblong shaped lanes of grass leading up the estate, which could be used as mini-stadiums. He pretended to play at various sporting events of the time, e.g. the Melbourne Olympics of 1956, the soccer Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, and the games at Lords Cricket ground. He still has medals he won for being school champion in the 100m sprint and the long jump. As said by Coleman himself "My information series Foul FootballFoul Football
Foul Football is one of the many spin-offs of Horrible Histories. The series is written by Michael Coleman and explains everything you need to know about football .-Book Titles:Here is a list of all the books in the Foul Football series:...
tries to convey some of the magic I felt about the game of soccer by relating the weird and wonderful history of the game and the personalities it has seen over the years. On the fiction side, my series about a junior soccer team called Angels FC tries to bring out the humour and sheer fun that you’ll find at the heart of the game when it’s played by youngsters who don’t even know how to spell the word cynicism." Coleman had his first children’s book published when he was 46 years of age. He has also said: "I didn't [want to become a writer] at first. I used to teach computer science at a university and my first book was a boring one about computers. I livened it up by putting a few jokes in. At the end I thought I'd try writing a few more things, but this time forgetting about the computers and concentrating on the jokes. After lots of failures I realised that youngsters enjoy jokes more than adults and started writing for them. Eighty books later, I'm still doing it." "I write both fact and fiction. The Foul Football series are favourite fact books, simply because they're about football. On the fiction side, I'm just finishing a trilogy called The Bearkingdom. They're dark and scary, quite different to anything I've written before."
His favourite footballer is Trevor Brooking
Trevor Brooking
Sir Trevor David Brooking CBE is a football player turned manager, on-air analyst, and administrator.Brooking attended Ripple Infants School and left Ilford County High School with 11 O-levels and 2 A-levels....
- having been neighbours with him and versing his a couple of times as a child. His favoutrite team is West Ham. Apart from sport, his favourite subjects at school were Maths and Physics. His favourite author is Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
, and his favourite illustrators are those of the Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers
Roy of the Rovers is a British comic strip about the life and times of a fictional footballer named Roy Race, who played for Melchester Rovers...
comic strip in the Tiger magazine.