Malorie Blackman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Malorie Blackman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born | February 1962 London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Author |
| Nationality | British |
| Genres | Children's literature, science fiction and horror |
Malorie Blackman (born February 1962) is an award-winning British author of literature and television drama for children and young adults. She has used science fiction to explore social and ethical issues. Her critically and popularly acclaimed Noughts & Crosses series uses the setting of a fictional dystopia to explore racism.
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[edit] Biography
Malorie Blackman was born in February 1962 in London.[1] While at grammar school, in Peckham, she wanted to be an English teacher but grew up to become a systems programmer instead.[2][1] She earned a HNC at Thames Polytechnic and is a graduate of the National Film and Television School.[1][3] Blackman married her Scottish husband Neil in the 1990s and their daughter Elizabeth was born in 1995.[2] Blackman has described herself, "I'm just Malorie Blackman – a black woman writer."[1]
Blackman's first book, Not So Stupid, was a collection of horror and science fiction stories for young adults, published in November 1990.[4] Since then she has written more than fifty children's books, including novels and short story collections, and also television scripts and a stage play.[4][5] Her work has won more than fifteen awards.[5][6] Blackman's television scripts include episodes of the long-running, children's drama Byker Grove, as well as television adaptations of her novels Whizziwig and Pig-Heart Boy.[5] Her books have been translated into over fifteen languages including Spanish, Welsh, German, Japanese, Chinese and French.
Blackman's award-winning Noughts & Crosses series, exploring love, racism, and violence, is set in a fictional dystopia. Explaining her choice of title, in a 2007 interview for the BBC's Blast website, Blackman said noughts and crosses is "...one of those games that nobody ever plays after childhood, because nobody ever wins..."[7] In an interview for The Times, Blackman said that before writing Noughts & Crosses her protagonists' ethnicites were never central to the plots of her books.[2] She has also said, "I wanted to show black children just getting on with their lives, having adventures, and solving their dilemmas, like the characters in all the books I read as a child."[1] Blackman eventually decided to address racism directly.[2][7] She reused some details from her own experience, including an occasion when she needed a plaster and found they were designed to be inconspicuous only on white people's skin.[2] The Times interviewer Amanda Craig speculated about why the Noughts & Crosses series was not, for a long time, published in the United States: "though there was considerable interest, 9/11 killed off the possibility of publishing any book describing what might drive someone to become a terrorist."[2] Noughts and Crosses is now available in the US published under the title Black & White (Simon & Schuster Publishers, 2005)
Noughts & Crosses was #61 on the Big Read list, a 2003 BBC survey to find "The Nation's Best-Loved Book", with more votes than A Tale of Two Cities, several Terry Pratchett novels, and Lord of the Flies.
[edit] Works
[edit] Published works
[edit] Novels for young adults
- Not So Stupid!: Incredible Short Stories, The Women's Press, 1990, ISBN-10: 0704349248
- Trust Me, Livewire, 1992, ISBN-10: 0704349310
- Words Last Forever, Mammoth, 1998, ISBN-10: 074972983X
- The Noughts & Crosses series
- The Stuff of Nightmares, Doubleday, 2007, ISBN-10: 0385610432
- Unheard Voices: An Anthology of Stories and Poems to Commemorate the Bicentenary Anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, editor Malorie Blackman, Corgi Children's, 2007, ISBN-10: 0552556009
[edit] Short stories for young adults
- "Humming Through My Fingers" in the multi-author collection Shining on: A Collection of Stories in Aid of the Teen Cancer Trust, Picadilly Press, 2006, ISBN-10: 185340893X
- Short story in the multi-author collection The Crew and Other Teen Fiction, Heinemann Library, ISBN-10: 0431018758
[edit] Novels for children
- Hacker, Doubleday, 1992, ISBN-10: 0385402783
- Operation Gadgetman!, Doubleday, 1993, ISBN-10: 0385403372
- Jack Sweettooth the 73rd, Viking Children's Books, 1995, ISBN-10: 0670855391
- The Space Stowaway, Ginn, 1995, ISBN-10: 060226393X
- Whizziwig (illustrated by Stephen Lee), Viking Children's Books, 1995, ISBN-10: 067085705X
- Thief!, Doubleday, 1996, ISBN-10: 0552528080
- A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E, Doubleday, 1997, ISBN-10: 0552528390
- Pig-Heart Boy, Doubleday, 1997, ISBN-10: 0385406819
- Animal Avengers (illustrated by Bill Greenhead and Stik), Mammoth, 1999, ISBN-10: 0749735570
- Dangerous Reality, Doubleday, 1999, ISBN-10: 0385406800
- Don't Be Afraid [10] (illustrated by Bob Harvey), Ginn, 1999, ISBN-10 0602275490
- Forbidden Game, Puffin Books, 1999, ISBN-10: 0141303212
- Hostage [11] (illustrated by Derek Brazell), Barrington Stoke, 1999, ISBN-10: 1902260120
- Tell Me No Lies, Macmillan Children's Books, 1999, ISBN-10: 0333726456
- Whizziwig Returns (illustrated by Stephen Lee), Puffin, 1999, ISBN-10: 0141304588
- Dead Gorgeous, Doubleday, 2002, ISBN-10: 0385600097
- Cloud Busting, Doubleday, 2004, ISBN-10: 0385607962
- The Deadly Dare Mysteries (contents: "Deadly Dare", "Computer Ghost", "Lie Detectives"; illustrated by Neil Chapman), Corgi Children's, 2005, ISBN-10: 0552553530
- Whizziwig and Whizziwig Returns [12] (illustrated by Stephen Lee), Corgi Children's, 2005, ISBN-10: 044086657X
[edit] Short stories for children
- "Contact" in the multi-author collection Out of This World: Stories of Virtual Reality (chosen by Wendy Cooling), Dolphin, 1997, ISBN-10: 1858816025
- Aesop's Fables (retold by Malorie Blackman, illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Scholastic, 1998, ISBN-10 0590543822
- "Dare to be Different" (illustrated by Jane Ray) in the multi-author collection Dare to be Different, Bloomsbury Publishing, 1999, ISBN-10: 0747540217
- "Peacemaker" in the multi-author collection Peacemaker and Other Stories (illustrated by Peter Richardson and David Hine), Heinemann Educational, 1999, ISBN-10 0435116002
[edit] Books for new readers
- The Betsey Biggalow stories:
- Betsey Biggalow the Detective (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1992, ISBN-10: 1853401633
- Betsey Biggalow is Here! (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1992, ISBN-10: 1853401722
- Hurricane Betsey (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1993, ISBN-10: 1853401994
- Magic Betsey (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1994, ISBN-10: 1853402370
- Betsey's Birthday Surprise (illustrated by Lis Toft), Piccadilly Press, 1996, ISBN-10: 0590558641
- The Girl Wonder series:
- Girl Wonder and the Terrific Twins (illustrated by Pat Ludlow), Orion Children's Books, 1991, ISBN-10: 0575050489
- Girl Wonder's Winter Adventures (illustrated by Lis Toft), Orion Children's Books, 1992, ISBN-10: 0575053836
- Girl Wonder to the Rescue (illustrated by Lis Toft), Gollancz, 1994, ISBN-10 0575057742
- The Amazing Adventures of Girl Wonder (illustrated by Lis Toft), Barn Owl Books, 2003, ISBN-10: 1903015278
- The Puzzle Planet adventures:
- Peril on Planet Pellia (illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Orchard Books, 1996, ISBN-10: 1852139358
- The Mellion Moon Mystery (illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Orchard Books, 1996, ISBN-10: 1852139366
- The Secret of the Terrible Hand (illustrated by Patrice Aggs), Orchard Books, 1996, ISBN-10: 1860393705
- Quasar Quartz Quest (illustrated by Patrice Aggs) Orchard Books, 1996, ISBN-10: 1852139382
- The Longman Book Project (with translations to Welsh):
- Rachel versus Bonecrusher the Mighty, Longman, 1994, ISBN-10: 0582121515
- Rachel and the Difference Thief (illustrated by Kim Harley), Longman, 1994, ISBN-10: 0582121523
- Crazy Crocs (with Alexander McCall Smith and Sally-Ann Lever), Longman, 1994, ISBN-10: 0582122082
- Elaine You're a Brat! [13] (illustrated by Doffy Weir), Orchard Books, 1991, ISBN-10: 1852133651
- My Friend's a Gris-Quok (illustrated by Philip Hopman), Scholastic, 1994, ISBN-10: 0590558641
- Grandma Gertie's Haunted Handbag (illustrated by David Price), Heinemann, 1996, ISBN-10: 0434972258
- Space Race (illustrated by Colin Mier), Corgi Children's, 1997, ISBN-10: 0552545422
- Fangs (illustrated by Tony Blundell), Orchard Books, 1998, ISBN-10: 1860397344
- Snow Dog (illustrated by Sami Sweeten), Corgi Children's, 2001, ISBN-10: 0552547034
- The Monster Crisp-Guzzler (illustrated by Sami Sweeten), Corgi Children's, 2002, ISBN-10: 0552547832
- Sinclair, Wonder Bear (illustrated by Deborah Allwright), Egmont Books, 2003, ISBN-10: 140520589X
[edit] Picture books
- That New Dress [14] (illustrated by Rhian Nest James), Hodder Wayland, 1991, ISBN-10: 0750004428
- Mrs Spoon's Family (illustrated by Jan McCafferty), Andersen Press, 1995, ISBN-10: 0862645824
- Dizzy's Walk (illustrated by Pamela Venus), Tamarind, 1999, ISBN-10: 1870516419
- Marty Monster (illustrated by Kim Harley), Tamarind, 1999, ISBN-10: 1870516427
- I Want a Cuddle! (illustrated by Joanne Partis), Orchard Books, 2001, ISBN-10: 1841218235
- Jessica Strange (with Alison Bartlett), Hodder Children's Books, 2002, ISBN-10: 0340779632
- Contributed to A Christmas Tree of Stories, Scholastic Press, 1999, ISBN-10: 0439011922
[edit] Television scripts
- Episodes of Byker Grove
- Episodes of Whizziwig
- Episodes of Pig Heart Boy
[edit] Stage plays
- 2002, The Amazing Birthday
[edit] Awards and nominations
[edit] Body of work
- 1997, Excelle/Write Thing Children's Author of the Year Award.[5]
- 2005, Children's Book Circle's Eleanor Farjeon Award.[6]
[edit] Novels
[edit] For Hacker (1992)
- 1994, W.H. Smith Mind Boggling Book of the Year Award.[5]
- 1994, Young Telegraph/Gimme 5 Children's Book of the Year Award.[5]
- 1995, Birmingham/TSB Children's Book Award (shortlist).[6]
[edit] For Thief! (1996)
- 1996, Young Telegraph/Fully Booked Children's Book of the Year Award.[5]
[edit] For A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E (1997)
- 1997, Stockport Children's Book of the Year Award (Key Stage 3 category).[5]
- 1997, Stockton-on-Tees Children's Book Award (shortlisted).[6]
- 1998, Sheffield Children's Book Award (highly commended).[6]
- 2001, Stockport Schools Book Award (shortlisted).[6]
[edit] For Pig-Heart Boy (1997)
- 1998, Carnegie Medal (shortlist).[5]
- 1998, UKRA Award.[5]
- 1999, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year (shortlist).[6]
- 1999, Wirral Paperback of the Year Award.[5][6]
[edit] For Tell Me No Lies (1999)
[edit] For Dead Gorgeous (2002)
- 2003, Calderdale Book of the Year (shortlist).[6]
- 2003, Salford Children's Book Award (shortlist).[6]
[edit] For books in the Noughts & Crosses series
- 2002, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year.[5][6]
- 2002, Red House Children's Book Award.[5][6]
- 2002, Sheffield Children's Book Award.[5][6]
- 2003, Wirral Paperback of the Year Award.[5][6]
- 2004, Fantastic Fiction Award.[5]
- 2005, Berkshire Book Award (shortlist).[6]
- 2005, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year (shortlist).[6]
- 2005, Redbridge Teenage Book Award (shortlist).[6]
- 2006, Lancashire Children's Book of the Year (shortlist).[6]
- 2006, Staffordshire Young People's Book of the Year.[6]
[edit] For Cloud Busting (2004)
- 2004, Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Silver Award) (6-8 years category).[5]
- 2005, Redbridge Children's Book Award (shortlist).[6]
- 2005, Stockport Schools Book Award (shortlisted).[6]
- 2006, Nottingham Children's Book Award (shortlist) (10-11 years category).[6]
- 2006, West Sussex Children's Book Award (shortlist).[6]
[edit] Television adaptations
[edit] For Pig-Heart Boy
- 2000, BAFTA Best Drama.[5][6]
- 2000, Race and Media Best Drama Award.[5]
- 2000, Royal Television Society Award (Children's Drama category).[5]
- 2001, Chicago TV Festival (shortlist).[5]
- 2001, Prix Danube Children's Jury Prize.[5]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Craig, Amanda (2004-01). Malorie Blackman: the world in photographic negative. The Times. Times Newspapers Limited. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
- ^ Malorie Blackman. 40 artists, 40 days. Tate Online (2006). Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
- ^ a b Full Record. British Library Integrated Catalogue. The British Library Board. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Malorie Blackman. Contemporary Writers. British Council (2007). Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Awards and Prizes. Kids at Random House. Random House Children's Books. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ a b Malorie Blackman - Children and Young People's Writer. Blast. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-03-23.
- ^ Also published as Black & White, Simon Pulse, 2007, ISBN-10: 1416900179
- ^ Also published in Noughts & Crosses, Corgi Children's, 2006, ISBN-10: 0552555703
- ^ Originally published 1997
- ^ Also published as 4u2read.ok Hostage, Barrington Stoke, 2002, ISBN-10: 184299056X, and as a "Close Look, Quick Look" photocopiable version for teachers, Barrington Stoke, 2004, ISBN-10: 1842992368
- ^ Originally published separately as Whizziwig, 1995, and Whizzywhig Returns, 1999
- ^ Also published as Ellie, and the Cat!, Orchard Books, 2005, ISBN-10: 1843623919
- ^ Also published as A New Dress for Maya, Gary Stevens Publishing, 1992, ISBN-10: 0836807138
[edit] External links
- Malorie Blackman's official website
- Malorie Blackman at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Watch a video podcast of Malorie's writing tips by BBC Blast
- Malorie Blackman at www.contemporarywriters.com
- Interview with Malorie Blackman at the BBC
- An article about Malorie Blackman at Times Online
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Blackman, Malorie |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 8 February 1962 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | London, United Kingdom |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
