Melvin Burgess | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 April 1954 Twickenham, London, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | British |
Melvin Burgess (born 25 April 1954) is a British writer of children's fiction. He became famous in 1996 with the publication of Junk , about heroin-addicted teenagers on the streets of Bristol. In Britain, Junk became one of the best-known young adult books of the decade. Burgess won the annual Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British author. [1] For the 10th anniversary in 2007 it was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite. [2]
Burgess was born in the Municipal Borough of Twickenham, Middlesex, England (now administered as part of Greater London).
He completed his first book accepted for publication in his mid-thirties: a novel, The Cry of the Wolf , published by Andersen Press in 1990, which was highly commended [3] [lower-alpha 1] by librarians for the Carnegie Medal, which Gillian Cross won for Wolf . Cross features a girl and a metaphorical wolf, the characters being the last grey wolf in Britain.
Andersen published all of Burgess' books until the mid-1990s. The Baby and Fly Pie (1993) was another highly commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal, a distinction that was roughly annual. [3] [lower-alpha 1]
Junk won the 1996 Carnegie Medal [1] and also the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize judged by a panel of British children's writers, which The Guardian confers only once upon any author. [4] Burgess is one of six authors, all 1967 to 1996, who won the Carnegie Medal for their Guardian Prize-winning books.
Kite (1997) features a boy who hatches a red kite egg.
Burgess again attracted controversy in 2003, with the publication of Doing It , which dealt with underage sex. In the U.S. it was adapted as a television series, Life as We Know It .
In other books such as The Ghost Behind the Wall (2000), Burgess has dealt with less realist and sometimes fantastic themes. Bloodtide (1999) and Bloodsong (2007) are post-apocalypse adaptations of Volsunga Saga .
In 2001 Burgess wrote the novelisation of the film Billy Elliot , based on Lee Hall's screenplay.
Polyphony is a narrative technique used in many of his best known novels.[ citation needed ]
Flambards is a novel for children or young adults by K. M. Peyton, first published by Oxford University Press in 1967 with illustrations by Victor Ambrus. Alternatively, "Flambards" is the trilogy (1967–1969) or series (1967–1981) named after its first book. The series is set in England just before, during, and after World War I.
The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936, is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new English-language book for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), who calls it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing". CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award.
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The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author of the book by The Guardian newspaper, which established it in 1965 and inaugurated it in 1967. It was a lifetime award in that previous winners were not eligible. At least from 2000 the prize was £1,500. The prize was apparently discontinued after 2016, though no formal announcement appears to have been made.
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Michael Foreman is a British author and illustrator, one of the best-known and most prolific creators of children's books. He won the 1982 and 1989 Kate Greenaway Medals for British children's book illustration and he was a runner-up five times.
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Jan Michał Pieńkowski was a Polish-born British author of children's books—as illustrator, as writer, and as designer of movable books. He is best known for illustrating the Meg and Mog picture book series. He also did stage design for the theatre. For his contribution as a children's illustrator he was UK nominee in 1982 and again in 2008 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest recognition available to creators of children's books.
Janet Ahlberg and Allan Ahlberg were a British married couple who created many children's books, including picture books that regularly appear at the top of "most popular" lists for public libraries. They worked together for 20 years until Janet's death from cancer in 1994. He wrote the books and she illustrated them. Allan Ahlberg has also written dozens of books with other illustrators.
Anthony Edward Tudor Browne is a British writer and illustrator of children's books, primarily picture books. Browne has written or illustrated over fifty books, and received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000. From 2009 to 2011 he was Children's Laureate.
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Gerald Hembdon Seymour Rose was a British illustrator of children's books. He won the 1960 Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject, for Old Winkle and the Seagulls, written by his wife Elizabeth (Liz) Rose and published by Faber and Faber.
