Jenny Valentine

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Jenny Valentine
Born1970
Cambridge
Occupationauthor
LanguageEnglish
NationalityBritish
EducationEnglish literature
Alma mater Goldsmiths' College
Genre Children's literature
Years active2007–present
Notable works Finding Violet Park
Notable awards Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
SpouseAlex Valentine
Childrentwo

Jenny Valentine (born 1970) is an English children's novelist. For her first novel and best-known work, Finding Violet Park (HarperCollins, 2007), she won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers. [1] [2] Valentine lives in Glasbury-on-Wye, Wales [3] with her husband singer/songwriter Alex Valentine, with whom she runs a health food shop in nearby Hay-on-Wye. [4]

Contents

Writer

HarperCollins has published Valentine's novels in Britain and usually one year later in America. Finding Violet Park (2007) was re-titled Me, The Missing and The Dead in the US (2008). [5] Beside winning the Guardian Prize [1] it made the shortlist (seven finalists that year) for the annual Carnegie Medal, which the British librarians confer upon the year's best children's book published in the UK [6] [7] Basque, Catalan and Italian translations of the book were published in 2008, followed by versions in Dutch, French, German, Slovenian, Spanish, and Norwegian. [8]

Her critically acclaimed second novel, Broken Soup , published in January 2008, was shortlisted for the 2008 Waterstone's Children's Book Prize and the 2008 Costa Book Children's Book Award, [9] [10] and longlisted for the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize. [11] By 2010 it had also been published in Dutch and German-language translations. [8]

"Ten Stations", a short-story prequel to Finding Violet Park , was included among 2009 World Book Day publications.[ clarification needed ] That year Valentine also inaugurated a series of short stories for young children entitled Iggy and Me. [12] [ clarification needed ]

Valentine's third novel, The Ant Colony, [13] was published in 2009. [14] By 2011 it had been published in Dutch and in German translations. [8]

Her fourth novel, The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight, was set in her home town of Hay-on-Wye. [15] It was also her fourth novel nominated for the Carnegie Medal, i. e. it was one of the year's top forty children's books published in the UK, in the estimation of librarians. [6] By 2011 it had also been published in Dutch. [8]

Valentine takes part annually in the Hay Festival.

Works

YearTitlePublisherAnnual awards
2007 Finding Violet Park
(US) Me, the Missing, and the Dead		HarperCollins
2008 Broken Soup HarperCollins
  • Waterstone's Children's Book Prize shortlist [9]
  • Costa Book Children's Book Award shortlist [10]
  • Booktrust Teenage Prize longlist [11]
  • Manchester Book Award longlist [16]
2009"Ten Stations" (short story) UK World Book Day
2009The Ant Colony
2009Iggy & Me (short story series)HarperCollins
2010The Double Life of Cassiel RoadnightHarperCollins
2010DoppelgangerHarperCollins [17]
2010Iggy & me (#1)HarperCollins
2010Iggy & me: The happy birthday (#2)HarperCollins [18] [ clarification needed ]
2010Iggy & me on holiday (#3)HarperCollins [19]
2011Iggy & me and the baby (#4HarperCollins [20]
2015Fire Colour One HarperCollins

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2007 (top page). guardian.co.uk . 8 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners". guardian.co.uk 12 March 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  3. ↑ "Happy Valentines (From Hereford Times)". Herefordtimes.com. 15 December 2008. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  4. ↑ "Jenny Valentine". Davidhigham.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 September 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  5. ↑ "Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine – Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists". Goodreads.com. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  6. 1 2 Press Desk (directory). CILIP. Retrieved 8 August 2012. Quote: "media releases relating to the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards in date order." (2002 to 2006 releases concern 2001 to 2005 awards.)
  7. ↑ Jenny Valentine at Fantastic Fiction.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Valentine, Jenny". WorldCat. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  9. 1 2 Waterstone's Children's Book Prize Archived 15 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1 2 Costa Book Awards
  11. 1 2 Booktrust Teenage Prize
  12. ↑ "Iggy and Me: Jenny Valentine". HarperCollins. 3 September 2009. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  13. ↑ Valentine, Jenny (15 December 2005). "The Ant Colony (Book) by Jenny Valentine (2009)". Waterstones.com. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  14. ↑ Mary Hoffman (11 April 2009). "Review: The Ant Colony by Jenny Valentine | Books". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Hot read: The Double Life of Cassiel Roadnight by Jenny Valentine". Gossip Blender. 22 February 1999. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  16. 1 2 Manchester Book Award Archived 21 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/503638191
  18. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/461267185
  19. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/619895311
  20. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/663437811
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