Katherine Roberts

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Katherine Roberts
OccupationNovelist
NationalityEnglish
Genre Fantasy
Website
katherineroberts.com

Katherine Roberts is an English author, best known for her fantasy trilogy The Echorium Sequence. She spent most of her childhood in Devon and Cornwall, England. She is the daughter of Derek Robert, an electrical engineer, and Dorothy Margaret, a teacher.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Katherine Roberts spent most of her childhood in Devon and Cornwall where she was born. [1] She first entered education at an infant school in Redruth (Cornwall), later on joining the Oldway County Primary School in Paignton (Devon) and then moving onto Torquay Grammar School for Girls (also in Devon). She graduated with a first degree in Mathematics from the University of Bath. Following on from that, she has had numerous jobs associated with programming computers, looking after racehorses and a job in a pet shop. [2]

Writing career

In 1999, her first book Song Quest was published, winning the Branford Boase Award for children. [3] She later published Crystal Mask (2001) and Dark Quetzal (2003) which were both in the same series.

In 2001, she published the first novel in The Seven Fabulous Wonders series called The Great Pyramid Robbery , which the Sunday Express said was "A terrific tale of plots, curses and evil forces set in ancient Egypt". [4] This was followed on with The Babylon Game in 2002, which was said to be "Incredible... adventures that twist and turn and will have you spellbound on every page," by the Children's Book of the Week, South Wales Evening Post. [5] The same year, the third book in the series, The Amazon Temple Quest , was published, and in 2003, The Mausoleum Murder was also published. Following on from this, in 2004 and 2005, The Olympic Conspiracy and The Colossus Crisis were also published within the series. The series concluded in 2006 with the seventh book, The Cleopatra Curse .

Katherine Roberts has also produced other books such as Spellfall , which The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week said, "this magical and fantastical story from Roberts has lessons for real children about taking responsibility.", [6] and its sequel Spell Spring (2016), and an epic novel about Alexander the Great from the horse's mouth I Am the Great Horse (2006).

She mainly writes within the fantasy genre.

Since 2014, she has been a Royal Literary Fund Fellow in universities, helping students with their academic writing.

Bibliography

Katherine Roberts has written a range of books, mostly belonging to The Echorium Sequence and The Seven Fabulous Wonders series. She has also written several short stories.

The Echorium Sequence

The Seven Fabulous Wonders

Pendragon Legacy

Earthaven

Other books

Awards

Related Research Articles

The Echorium Sequence is a young adult fantasy trilogy by Katherine Roberts. The trilogy comprises Song Quest (1999), Crystal Mask (2001), and Dark Quetzal (2003) and follows the tales of The Echorium - the singers located on the Isle of Echoes. In the first book, Song Quest, the major characters are singer Rialle, and Kherron. Song Quest is followed by Crystal Mask, which focuses on singers Renn and Shaiala. Dark Quetzal, the third installment, stars Kyarra and Caell. The trilogy follows each generation carrying on from the previous generation in each book, starting with Rialle and Kherron. The series features creatures such as nāgas, centaurs, and half-creatures.

The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist." The award is shared by both the author and their editor, which The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature noted is unusual for literary awards.

<i>Song Quest</i> Fantasy novel by Katherine Roberts

Song Quest is a fantasy novel by Katherine Roberts. It is the first book in The Echorium Sequence, followed by Crystal Mask and Dark Quetzal. The novel was first published in 1999 by Chicken House as a hardback copy; later on in 2001, the first paperback was published. Song Quest was the winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2000 and was the first Branford Boase Award given out.

<i>Dark Quetzal</i>

Dark Quetzal is a fantasy novel by British writer Katherine Roberts, first published in 2003 by The Chicken House. It is the final book in The Echorium Sequence and is the sequel to Crystal Mask, set 11 years after the events of that book. The main characters are Kyarra, Frazhin and Yashra's daughter who was raised as a singer, and Night Plume, a quetzal who has grown up under Frazhin's control.

<i>The Great Pyramid Robbery</i>

The Great Pyramid Robbery is a fantasy novel by English writer Katherine Roberts, the first book in The Seven Fabulous Wonders series and the prequel to The Babylon Game.

<i>The Babylon Game</i>

The Babylon Game is a fantasy novel by British writer Katherine Roberts, the second book in The Seven Fabulous Wonders series and the sequel to The Great Pyramid Robbery.

The Seven Fabulous Wonders is a fantasy series by Katherine Roberts currently comprising seven novels. The novels are based on the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Henrietta Diana Primrose Longstaff Branford was an English author of children's books. Her greatest success was Fire, Bed and Bone (1997), a historical novel set during the English peasants' revolt of 1381. For that she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers, and she was a highly commended runner up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.

Marcus Sedgwick was a British writer and illustrator. He authored several young adult and children's books and picture books, a work of nonfiction and several novels for adults, and illustrated a collection of myths and a book of folk tales for adults. According to School Library Journal his "most acclaimed titles" were those for young adults.

<i>Floodland</i> (novel) Childrens fantasy novel by Marcus Sedgwick

Floodland is a children's fantasy novel by Marcus Sedgwick, published on 2 March 2000 by Orion Children's Books. Floodland won the Branford Boase Award in 2001 for an outstanding first published novel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meg Rosoff</span> American novelist

Meg Rosoff is an American writer based in London, United Kingdom. She is best known for the novel How I Live Now, which won the Guardian Prize, Printz Award, and Branford Boase Award and made the Whitbread Awards shortlist. Her second novel, Just in Case, won the annual Carnegie Medal from the British librarians recognising the year's best children's book published in the UK.

Frances Hardinge is a British children's writer. Her debut novel, Fly By Night, won the 2006 Branford Boase Award and was listed as one of the School Library Journal Best Books. She has also been shortlisted for and received a number of other awards for both her novels as well as some of her short stories.

Dominic Barker is a British children's author.

John Dougherty is a Northern Irish children's writer, born in the town of Larne in 1964. He now lives in Gloucestershire.

This is a list of characters in The Echorium Sequence books by Katherine Roberts.

Julia Eccleshare MBE is a British journalist and writer on the subject of children's books. She has been Children's Books editor for The Guardian newspaper for more than ten years, at least from 2000. She is also an editorial contributor and advisor for the website Love Reading 4 Kids. She is a recipient of the Eleanor Farjeon Award.

Lucy Christopher is a British/Australian author best known for her novel Stolen, which won the Branford Boase award 2010 in the UK, and the 2010 Gold Inky in Australia. Her second book, Flyaway, was shortlisted for the 2010 Costa Book Awards and the 2010 Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. She currently lives between Australia and the United Kingdom and has just finished her first book for an adult audience, RELEASE.

Barry Cunningham is a British publisher, who worked for various publishers including Penguin Books and Bloomsbury before setting up Chicken House publishing in 2000. He is most well known for signing J. K. Rowling and publishing Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997.

<i>Seven Wonders</i> (series)

Seven Wonders is a pentalogy of children's fantasy, adventure and mythological fiction books written by American author Peter Lerangis. It is based on Greek mythology and set around the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Jack McKinley discovers a secret organization on a hidden island, and becomes the leader of a mission to retrieve seven lost magical orbs. As Jack and his three friends realize their lives are at stake, they have no choice but to accept the quest and embark on the challenge.

Elle McNicoll is a Scottish bestselling children's writer. McNicoll has been described as "undoubtedly an outstanding new talent in children's books [who] will inspire readers young and old for generations to come".

References

  1. Katherine Roberts' biography at
  2. "Katherine Roberts". www.knibbworld.com. Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. "Children's Books - Articles - The Branford Boase Award | BfK No. 170". booksforkeeps.co.uk. 20 February 2017. Archived from the original on 16 March 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  4. Quotes on The Great Pyramid Robbery
  5. Quotes on The Babylon Game
  6. Quotes on Spellfall