Elle McNicoll

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Elle McNicoll
BornElle McNicoll
5 October 1992
Edinburgh, Scotland
OccupationChildren's Author, screenwriter
LanguageEnglish
NationalityScottish
Alma mater University College London
Years active2020-present
Notable works A Kind of Spark
Show Us Who You Are
Notable awards2021 Waterstones Children's Book Prize
2021 Blue Peter Book Award

Elle McNicoll (born 5 October 1992) is a Scottish and British 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". [1]

Contents

Biography

McNicoll's debut novel, A Kind of Spark (2020) follows the efforts of an autistic [2] eleven-year-old girl, Addie, to establish a memorial to the witch trials in her Scottish hometown. McNicoll is autistic herself. [3] The book was children's book of the week in The Times and The Sunday Times , [4] [5] and won both the Overall and Younger Fiction prizes at the 2021 Waterstones Children's Book Prize. [6] It also won the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, voted for by children. [7] McNicoll was also nominated for the Branford Boase Award [8] and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal . McNicoll's debut was also named Overall Book of the Year by Blackwell's , beating titles in the Adult Market. [9]

Her second novel, Show Us Who You Are, was published in March, 2021, and was Children's Book of the Week in The Times . [10] It was also the Children's Book of the Month, as chosen by Blackwell's . [11] It was nominated for Best Children's Fiction in the 2021 Books Are My Bag Awards, and McNicoll was also nominated for Best Breakthrough Author. [12]

Her third novel Like A Charm was published in February 2022 by Knights Of and was also Children's Book of the Week in The Times, [13] as well as being reviewed as 'Another fiercely gripping, superbly original story' by The Guardian. [14] In 2022 McNicoll also wrote a story as part of the crime anthology The Very Merry Murder Club [15] edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens.

McNicoll was awarded an honour by the Schneider Family Book Award in 2022 for the US edition of A Kind of Spark.

A Kind of Spark was optioned for a CBBC television series, with McNicoll acting as co-head writer on the programme. [16] It premiered on BBC iPlayer in the UK on 31 March 2023. [17]

McNicoll's debut novel was listed as number 75 in The 100 Greatest Children's Books of All Time [18]

McNicoll also wrote and recorded an essay for BBC Radio 3's The Essay. [19] The subject was Nora Ephron, a heroine of McNicoll's.

She currently lives in London.[ citation needed ]

Advocacy

McNicoll has been an outspoken advocate for better representations of neurodiversity in publishing. [20] She has been credited with kickstarting a revolution in publishers' attitudes to neurodiverse characters. [21] In 2022, McNicoll established The Adrien Prize, a prize for traditionally published children's books with a disabled lead character. [22] The longlist for The Adrien Prize 2022 was announced on twitter and included: The Night the Moon Went Out by Samantha Baines, The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton, A Flash of Fireflies by Aisha Bushby, Wilder Than Midnight by Cerrie Burnell, The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards and The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks by Emily Kenny. [23]

Works

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A Kind of Spark is a Irish-British-American-Canadian children's television series created by Anna McCleery, based on the novel by Elle McNicoll. It is produced by Canadian-based 9 Story Media Group co produced with Irish-based Brown Bag Films in association with Scotland-based LS Productions and American tv channel BYU TV for the CBBC The series follows Addie, a young autistic girl who wants a memorial in her village for the witches who were persecuted there.

References

  1. ↑ "Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: 'I never saw autistic girls in books'". TheGuardian.com . July 2021.
  2. ↑ McNicoll, Elle (6 July 2020). ""I write about anything and everything, but I always write about neurodiversity": Elle McNicoll on being a neurodivergent author". BookTrust . Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  3. ↑ McNicoll, Elle. "Stories from the Spectrum: Elle McNicoll". National Autistic Society . Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. ↑ Alex O'Connell, Children's Book of the Week: A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, The Times , 6 June 2020. Accessed 7 June 2020.
  5. ↑ Nicolette Jones, Children's book of the week: A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, Sunday Times , 7 June 2020. Accessed 7 June 2020.
  6. ↑ "'A Kind of Spark' wins Waterstones Children's Book Prize". Books+Publishing. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. ↑ "Blue Peter Book Awards 2022".
  8. ↑ "Getten, McNicoll, Mann and Pearson feature on Branford Boase shortlist | the Bookseller".
  9. ↑ "McNicoll bags Blackwell's Book of the Year | the Bookseller".
  10. ↑ O'Connell, Alex. "Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll review — tween boy-meets-girl love story meets sci-fi horror".
  11. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Blackwell's Children's Book of the Month, March 2021 - Show Us Who You Are. YouTube .
  12. ↑ "Rashford, Sethi and McAnulty on Books Are My Bag Readers Awards shortlists".
  13. ↑ O'Connell, Alex. "Like a Charm by Elle McNicoll review — a wildly imaginative world of secrets and spells". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Children's and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels". the Guardian. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  15. ↑ "I Will Be Writing a Neurodivergent Detective Story for Crime Anthology | Blog | Elle McNicoll". I Will Be Writing a Neurodivergent Detective Story for Crime Anthology | Blog | Elle McNicoll. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  16. ↑ "BBC orders 'A Kind Of Spark' adaptation from Canada's 9 Story Media". TBI Vision. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  17. ↑ "A Kind of Spark to premiere on BBC iPlayer, CBBC, BYUtv and CBC!". 24 March 2023.
  18. ↑ "The 100 greatest children's books of all time".
  19. ↑ "BBC Radio 3 - Schedules, 25 September - 1 October 2023".
  20. ↑ "Elle McNicoll on being a neurodivergent author | BookTrust".
  21. ↑ Hill, Amelia (14 June 2023). "Books with neurodivergent characters mark new chapter for publishers". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  22. ↑ "Prizes for disabled writers: Four awards celebrating disability". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  23. ↑ "The Adrien Prize". Twitter. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
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