![]() | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations .(July 2015) |
Kenneth Oppel | |
---|---|
![]() Oppel (2016 at the Berlin International Literature Festival) | |
Born | Port Alberni, British Columbia | August 12, 1967
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | Canadian |
Education | Trinity College, Toronto |
Period | 1985–present |
Notable works |
|
Notable awards | Governor General's Literary Award 2004 Airborn The Times Children's Novel 2005 Skybreaker |
Spouse | Philippa Sheppard |
Children | 3 |
Website | |
kennethoppel |
Kenneth Oppel (born August 31, 1967) is a Canadian children's writer.
Oppel was born in Port Alberni, and spent his childhood in Victoria, British Columbia and Halifax, Nova Scotia. He also lived in Newfoundland and Labrador, England, and Ireland.
In 1985, Oppel wrote his first book Colin's Fantastic Video Adventure, [1] while at St. Michaels University School. He attended at the same time as actors Andrew Sabiston and Leslie Hope, fellow writers John Burns and Bert Archer, and just before the NBA's Steve Nash and Flickr founder Stewart Butterfield. Oppel forwarded the newly completed manuscript to a family friend who knew Roald Dahl, who in turn recommended it to his agent. Oppel went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts degree in cinema studies and English at Trinity College in the University of Toronto, writing The Live-Forever Machine (1992) during his final year. Oppel moved to England and wrote a number of books during that period, gleaning several ideas while working at typing students' papers. From 1995 to 1996, Oppel worked as an editor at Quill & Quire , the trade magazine of the Canadian publishing industry.
He wrote four books for the Silverwing novel series: Silverwing , Sunwing , Firewing and Darkwing . He also wrote another series, the Matt Cruse saga, including Airborn (2004), Skybreaker (2005) and Starclimber (2008).
Oppel has won numerous literary awards, including the 2004 Governor General's Literary Award for English language children's literature, a Printz Honor Award from the American Library Association (both for Airborn) and The Times Children's Novel of 2005 (for Skybreaker, named a 2006 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association).
Oppel is married to Philippa Sheppard, a Shakespeare scholar and instructor at the University of Toronto. [2] [3]
Young adult fiction
The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein
Silverwing series
The novel series was adapted into a TV series titled Silverwing . Airborn series
Overthrow series
Other
| Children's fictionBarnes and the Brains
Other
Adult fiction
|
William Robertson Davies was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished "men of letters", a term Davies gladly accepted for himself. Davies was the founding Master of Massey College, a graduate residential college associated with the University of Toronto.
Thomas King is an American-born Canadian writer and broadcast presenter who most often writes about First Nations.
Firewing is a children's book written by the Canadian author, Kenneth Oppel. It is the third book in the series which also consists of: Silverwing, Sunwing and the prequel, Darkwing.
Leon Garfield FRSL was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted Shakespeare: The Animated Tales for television.
Airborn is a 2004 young adult novel by Kenneth Oppel. The novel is set in an alternate history where the airplane has not been invented, and instead, airships are the primary form of air transportation. Additionally, the world contains fictional animal species such as flying creatures that live their entire lives in the sky. The book takes place aboard a transoceanic luxury passenger airship, the Aurora, and is told from the perspective of its cabin boy, Matt Cruse.
Darkwing is a 2007 young adult fantasy novel by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It is the prequel and fourth book of the Silverwing series, and takes place 65 million years before the events of the first book. It describes the origins of the war between the birds and the beasts.
Skybreaker, sequel to Airborn, is a young adult fantasy novel written by Canadian author Kenneth Oppel. It continues the adventures of young airship student Matt Cruse, and Kate de Vries, a budding scientist.
The Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children Award is a literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian children's book. The book must be written in English and published in Canada during the preceding year. The writer must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Heather O'Neill is a Canadian novelist, poet, short story writer, screenwriter and journalist, who published her debut novel, Lullabies for Little Criminals, in 2006. The novel was subsequently selected for the 2007 edition of Canada Reads, where it was championed by singer-songwriter John K. Samson. Lullabies won the competition. The book also won the Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for eight other major awards, including the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Governor General's Award and was longlisted for International Dublin Literary Award.
Silverwing is a 2003 Canadian animated television series based on Kenneth Oppel's novel of the same name. It is a 2D animated series with elements of 3D animation.
Brian Francis is a Canadian writer best known for his 2004 debut novel Fruit.
Jesse Aaron Dwyre is a Canadian actor, musician and writer. Dwyre has appeared in film, theatre and television. He currently plays Henry in HBO's crime series Jett, and Young Hogarth in His Masters Voice. He has starred in independent films Imitation (film) and Adam's Wall. He has drummed since the age of five primarily with the rock group Stylewinder.
The Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book Award was a literary award given annually from 1981 to 2016 to recognize a Canadian book of young adult fiction written in English and published in Canada, written by a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
The Red Maple Award is an award in the Ontario Library Association (OLA) Forest of Reading Awards. The Red Maple Award celebrates fiction and non-fiction Canadian books for grades 7–8 every year. Out of ten nominated books in each category students must read a minimum of five to vote for their favourite. The winner is chosen by the most popular book in all participating libraries, schools, groups, etc.
Gwen Benaway is Canadian poet and activist. As of October 2019, she was a PhD candidate in the Women & Gender Studies Institute at the Faculty of Arts & Science at the University of Toronto. Benaway has also written non-fiction for The Globe and Mail and Maclean's.
Zalika Reid-Benta is a Canadian author. Her debut novel River Mumma was a finalist for the 2024 Trillium Book Award and received starred reviews from publications such as Publishers Weekly. It has been listed as one of the best fiction books of 2023 on numerous platforms, including CBC Books. The novel is a "magical realist story" inspired by Jamaican folklore. The main character, Alicia Gale, is a young Black woman having a quarter-life crisis, while adventuring through the streets of Toronto, Ontario.
Firefly is a novel written by Canadian author Philippa Dowding, and published in 2021 by DCB / Cormorant Books in Toronto, Ontario. It won the 2021 Governor General's Literary Award for Young People’s Literature - Text.
Jabberwocky is an illustrated version of Lewis Carroll's poem of the same name. The book is illustrated by Canadian artist Stéphane Jorisch. It was published in 2004 by Kids Can Press and won the 2004 Governor General’s Literary Award for English-language children's illustration.
{{cite AV media}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)Kenneth Oppel has written numerous acclaimed novels for middle grade and young adult readers. His Silverwing trilogy has sold over a million copies worldwide.