Jacqueline Wilson

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Jacqueline Wilson

Born Jacqueline Aitken
17 December 1945 (1945-12-17) (age 62)
Bath, Somerset, England
Occupation Novelist
Nationality British
Official website

Dame Jacqueline Wilson, DBE, (born 17 December 1945) is an English author of children's books. Currently one of the bestselling authors in the United Kingdom, her books have won a range of major awards and have been adapted for television and stage.

Contents

[edit] Life and Education

She was born Jacqueline Aitken in Bath, Somerset, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston upon Thames, where she went to Latchmere Primary School. In her last year at the school a teacher gave her the nickname Jacky Daydream, a name she later used as the title of the first stage of her autobiography. When she was nine, she wrote her first "novel" which consisted of several slides. She sat two 11+ exams, passing at her second attempt. After Latchmere, she attended Coombe Girls' School, which she still visits to this day. Kingston University has named the main hall at its Penrhyn Road campus "Jacqueline Wilson Hall" in recognition of her connections with Kingston upon Thames.

As a teenager she started working with the Dundee-based publishing company DC Thomson on a new girls' magazine Jackie.[1] An urban myth that the magazine was named after her has been perpetuated by the author in promotional work even though this has been denied by those who were involved in the launch.[2]

Wilson is known for wearing black clothes and an array of large rings.[3]

She married William Millar Wilson in 1965, but the marriage was dissolved in 2004.[4] Wilson has one daughter, Emma Wilson.[5]

[edit] Style

Wilson's books are realistic portrayal about modern British children facing problems in their daily lives, ranging from the death of a pet (The Cat Mummy) to divorce (The Suitcase Kid), homelessness (The Bed and Breakfast Star), and abuse (Secrets) and difficult subjects parents may refrain from talking about, such as homosexuality (Kiss). Her books are usually illustrated by Nick Sharratt, and Sharratt's ink drawings and colourful cover designs have come to be associated with her work. Her work also often has characters from her own stories appearing in her other books, such as in Dustbin Baby, Best Friends, and Cliffhanger.

The majority of her books are written in the first person narrative, although some, such as Twin Trouble, are written in third person. One, the previously mentioned Secrets, is, though in first person, from the point of view of the two main characters, in alternative chapters, much like her other book The Lottie Project.

Girls in Love, Best Friends, Double Act, The Illustrated Mum and The Story of Tracy Beaker have been adapted as popular TV series.

[edit] Book sales

Over 25 million copies of Wilson's books have been sold in the UK alone.[6] In a poll conducted by the BBC, The Big Read, four books by Jacqueline Wilson were voted in the top 100 most popular books in Britain: Double Act, Girls In Love, Vicky Angel, and The Story of Tracy Beaker. In the list of the UK's 200 favourite books there are 14 books by Jacqueline Wilson. In 2004 she replaced Catherine Cookson as the most borrowed author in Britain's libraries, a position she retained for four years.

[edit] Awards

Wilson has won many awards, including the Smarties Prize, and the Guardian Children's Fiction Award. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the 1999 Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. It was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People's Choice Award.

In June 2002, Jacqueline Wilson was given an OBE for services to literacy in schools, and from 2005 to 2007 she was the fourth Children's Laureate.

In October 2005 she received an Honorary Degree from the University of Winchester in recognition of her achievements in and on behalf of children's literature. In July 2007 she received an Honorary Doctorate (Doctor of Letters) from Roehampton University in recognition of her achievements in and on behalf of children's literature. She is also the recipient of Honorary Degrees from Dundee University and Kingston University.

In the New Year Honours 2008, Jacqueline Wilson was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] Mark Spark

  • 1992 Mark Spark
  • 1993 Mark Spark in the Dark
  • 1993 Mark Spark returns

[edit] Freddy's Teddy

These books were written to help teach younger children to read.

  • 1994 Freddy's Teddy
  • 1994 Teddy in the Garden
  • 1994 Teddy Goes Swimming
  • 1994 Come Back Teddy!'
  • 1994 Teddy at the Fair

[edit] Tracy Beaker

[edit] Werepuppy

  • 1991 The Werepuppy
  • 1994 The Werepuppy on Holiday

[edit] Girls

  • 1995 Girls In Love
  • 1998 Girls Under Pressure
  • 1999 Girls Out Late
  • 2002 Girls In Tears

[edit] Adventure Holiday

  • 1995 Cliffhanger
  • 1998 Buried Alive!

[edit] Non-series works

  • 1969 Ricky's Birthday
  • 1972 Hide and Seek
  • 1973 Truth or Dare
  • 1974 Snap
  • 1976 Let's Pretend
  • 1977 Making Hate
  • 1982 Nobody's Perfect
  • 1983 Waiting for the Sky to Fall
  • 1984 The Killer Tadpole
  • 1984 The Other Side
  • 1984 The School Trip
  • 1985 How to Survive Summer Camp
  • 1986 Amber
  • 1986 The Monster in the Cupboard
  • 1987 Lonelyhearts
  • 1987 Supersleuth
  • 1987 The Power of the Shade
  • 1988 Rat Race
  • 1988 This Girl
  • 1988 Vampire
  • 1989 Falling Apart
  • 1989 The Left Outs
  • 1989 The Party in the Lift
  • 1990 Glubbslyme
  • 1990 Take a Good Look
  • 1991 The Dream Palace
  • 1992 The Suitcase Kid
  • 1992 Video Rose
  • 1993 Deep Blue
  • 1993 The Mum-Minder
  • 1994 The Bed And Breakfast Star
  • 1995 The Dinosaur's Packed Lunch
  • 1995 Double Act
  • 1995 Elsa, Star of the Shelter
  • 1995 Jimmy Jelly
  • 1995 Love from Katie
  • 1995 My Brother Bernadette
  • 1995 Sophie's Secret Diary
  • 1996 Bad Girls
  • 1996 Beauty and the Beast
  • 1996 Connie and the Water Babies
  • 1996 Mr. Cool
  • 1997 The Lottie Project
  • 1997 The Monster Story-Teller
  • 1998 Rapunzel
  • 1999 The Illustrated Mum
  • 1999 Monster Eyeballs
  • 2000 Lizzie Zipmouth
  • 2000 Vicky Angel
  • 2001 The Cat Mummy
  • 2001 Sleepovers
  • 2001 Dustbin Baby
  • 2002 Secrets
  • 2002 The Worry Website
  • 2003 Lola Rose
  • 2004 Midnight
  • 2004 Best Friends
  • 2004 The Diamond Girls
  • 2005 Clean Break
  • 2005 Love Lessons
  • 2006 Candyfloss
  • 2007 Jacky Daydream (autobiography)
  • 2007 Kiss
  • 2007 Totally Jacqueline Wilson
  • 2008 My Sister Jodie
  • 2008 Cookie

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Author profile. Jubilee Books (2003).
  2. ^ Author promotional interview. Jubilee Books (2003).
  3. ^ The Guardian: Profile of Jacqueline Wilson Accessed 9th May 2008
  4. ^ ‘WILSON, Jacqueline’, Who's Who 2008, A & C Black, 2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 accessed 30 May 2008. "Born 17 Dec. 1945; d of late Harry Aitken and of Margaret Aitken (née Clibbons); m 1965, William Millar Wilson (marr. diss. 2004); one d".
  5. ^ Author profile
  6. ^ "Wilson Sells 20 Million", Random House UK.