Andy Mulligan (author)

Andy Mulligan is an English writer best known for young-adult fiction. His work is strongly influenced by his experiences working as a volunteer in Calcutta, India, and as an English and drama teacher in Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the UK.[1]

Career

Mulligan's first novel, Ribblestrop, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2009. The story originated "on a walk with a fellow teacher"; they talked about they might turn a particular "ramshackle stately home ... into a thoroughly inappropriate school" (quoting the newspaper).[2]

His second novel, Trash (late 2010), featured a street child who lives as a waste picker. Judges named it to the shortlist for one of the annual Blue Peter Book Awards, sponsored by a BBC TV show for children ages 6 to 12, but were overruled "because it contains scenes of violence and swearing that are not suitable for the younger end of our audience." Publisher David Fickling stated that "Poor children live a very unpleasant life and to avoid that would be untruthful, and I don't think one should be untruthful to children. You can't make life wonderfully safe and middle-class all over the world."[3] More than a year later the professional librarians named it to the shortlist for their annual Carnegie Medal, recognising the year's best British children's book.[4][lower-alpha 1] A film adaptation of Trash by Working Title Films and PeaPie Films is in development.[5]

Return to Ribblestrop (2011) was the first of two Ribblestrop sequels. Mulligan won the 2011 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.[2][6] "It is so fresh: the judges loved its anarchy, its good humour, its warm heart and the way it depicted children," according to committee chair Julia Eccleshare, children's book editor at The Guardian.[2]

Works

Awards

Ribblestrop was also runner up for the 2009 Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ As a late 2010 publication, Trash was eligible for the 2010 Blue Peter Awards and the 2012 Carnegie Medal. The Carnegie judges, who are children's librarians, recommended it for ages 12+. The suggested age ranges provided by the Medal judges over more than a decade have ranged from 8+ to 14+.

References

  1. ↑ "Mulligan, Andy". Something About the Author. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Guardian children's fiction prize won by anarchic school story". Alison Flood. guardian.co.uk 10 November 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  3. ↑ "Blue Peter awards drop 'unsuitable' finalist". Benedicte Page. guardian.co.uk 7 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  4. ↑ "Carnegie shortlist includes Andy Mulligan's controversial Trash". Alison Flood. guardian.co.uk 27 March 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  5. ↑ "Trash the movie". Andy Mulligan: Latest News. Andy Mulligan. Retrieved 2012-11-22.
  6. ↑ "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners". theguardian 12 March 2001. Retrieved 2013-06-07.

External links