Tim Bowler | |
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Born | Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England | 14 November 1953
Occupation | Writer |
Nationality | English |
Genre | Thriller |
Website | |
www |
Tim Bowler (born 14 November 1953) is an author of books for teenagers and young adults. He won the 1997 Carnegie Medal from the CILIP, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject, for the novel River Boy . [1]
The Sunday Telegraph has called him "the master of the psychological thriller" [2] and The Independent "one of the truly individual voices in voices in British teenage fiction". [3]
Bowler was born in Leigh-on-Sea, and educated at the University of East Anglia where he studied Swedish and Scandinavian studies. [4]
His first published novel was Midget (1994), a psychological thriller set in Leigh-on-Sea. This has been followed by several other novels: Dragon's Rock (1995), a thriller set in Devon; River Boy (1997), a story about love and bereavement and winner of the Carnegie Medal; Shadows (1999), a love story; Storm Catchers (2001), a kidnap thriller; Starseeker (2002), an exploration of love, loss and music, also made into a play; Apocalypse (2004), an allegory about the future of mankind; Frozen Fire (2006), a philosophical thriller about the nature of reality; Bloodchild (2008), a story about memory, secrets and betrayal; Buried Thunder (2011), a dark psychological thriller; and Sea of Whispers (2013), a haunting and mysterious story set on the remote island of Mora.
Blade (2008 to 2013) is a series of urban thrillers. Reviewing it for The Bookbag, Jill Murphy wrote, "Nobody in children's writing is producing anything like this. It's electrifying." [5] Some editions in translation (e.g. Germany and Korea) are four books, each comprising two original volumes.
Bowler speaks at conferences, schools, and book festivals and makes regular appearances on radio. He lives in a village in Devon and writes in a small stone outhouse. [6]
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.
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.
The Carnegie Medal for Illustration is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) which inherited it from the Library Association. CILIP is currently partnered with the audio technology company Yoto in connection with the award, though their sponsorship and the removal of Greenaway’s name from the medal proved controversial.
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Storm is a novella and picture book written by Kevin Crossley-Holland, illustrated by Alan Marks, and published by Heinemann in 1985. It was the first children's book for Marks. The story features modern cottagers near a marshland with a renowned ghost. The younger daughter must cross the marsh alone in a family emergency, with telephone service down during a storm,.
Frozen Fire is a philosophical thriller about the nature of reality by Tim Bowler. The novel was first published in 2006. It introduces a mysterious boy who wants to escape his unhappy life through suicide, and a fifteen-year-old girl who only wants her brother back from wherever he has disappeared to. Frozen Fire has won several awards.
River Boy is a young adult novel by Tim Bowler, published by Oxford in 1997. It is the story of a teenage girl facing the prospect of bereavement. Bowler won the annual Carnegie Medal, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject. River Boy also won the 1999 Angus Book Award.
Bloodchild is a young adult novel written by British author Tim Bowler. It was originally published in 2008 in the UK. Bloodchild opens with a startling scene of visionary sensation. A boy lies dying in a deserted country lane. As he slips away, he sees almost abstract blocks of colour, as vivid and monumental as a Rothko painting. A deep blue ocean is sucking him under; misty red faces are swirling like shadows around him; and a girl with blue eyes as wide as the ocean is commanding him back to life.