Marcus Sedgwick
Marcus Sedgwick (born 8 April 1968) is a British writer, illustrator and musician. He has published novels such as Floodland (winner of the Branford Boase Award in 2001) and The Dark Horse (shortlisted for The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2002). He is also the author of several picture books, and has illustrated a collection of myths and a book of folk tales for adults.[1] He wrote the thrilling adventure tale Revolver as well. The first U.S. edition of his 2011 novel Midwinterblood won the 2014 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association as the preceding year's "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit".[2][3]
Biography
Marcus Sedgwick was born in East Kent, England.[4] After working as a bookseller and working in children's publishing, Sedgwick began writing in 1994. His first book, Floodland, was published in 2000, and it received the Branford-Boase award for the best first children's novel of that year. Floodland tells the story of Zoe, who lives on her own on an island that used to be part of England before global warming caused the sea to rise. Though a Horn Book reviewer commented that the book could have used further developed characters, the reviewer concluded, "this first novel is sufficiently taut, accessible, and swift moving to make it an effective cautionary tale."[1] In 2013 released Dark Satanic Mills a graphic novel written in conjunction with his brother Julian Sedgwick and illustrated by John Higgins. His 2015 book The Ghosts of Heaven, a work of young adult fiction consisting of four loosely connected parts combining in an "intriguing" novel, according to Sarah McCarry.[5]
Selected works
Novels
- Floodland (Orion Children's Books Dolphin, 2000) – illustrated by Sedgwick[6]
- The Dark Horse (2001)
- Witch Hill (2001) – nominated for Edgar Allan Poe Awards
- The Book of Dead Days (2003)
- A Christmas Wish (2003)
- Cowards (2003)
- The Dark Flight Down – sequel to The Book of Dead Days (2005)
- The Foreshadowing (2005)
- My Swordhand Is Singing (2006)
- Blood Red, Snow White (2007)
- The Kiss of Death (2008)
- Revolver (2009)
- White Crow (2010)
- Midwinterblood (Orion Indigo, 2011; U.S., Roaring Brook Press, 2013)[6]
- She Is Not Invisible (2013)
- Dark Satanic Mills (2013) – graphic novel co-written with Julian Sedgwick. Illustrated by Marc Olivent and John Higgins[7]
- The Ghosts of Heaven (2015)
- A Love Like Blood (2015)
- Mister Memory (2016)
- Saint Death (2016)
Raven Mysteries
- Flood and Fang (Orion, 2009)[6]
- Ghosts and Gadgets (2009)
- Lunatics and Luck (2010)
- Vampires and Volt (2010)
- Magic and Mayhem (2011)
- Diamonds and Doom (2011)
Elf Girl and Raven Boy
- Fright Forest (Orion, 2012)[6]
- Monster Mountains
- Scream Sea
- Dread Desert
- Terror Town
- Creepy Caves
Other books
- Outremer: Jaufré Rudel and the Countess of Tripoli – A Legend of the Crusades (1993) – illustrator
- The Emperor's New Clothes (2004) – picture book
- The Dead Days Omnibus (2006) – omnibus edition
- Doctor Who: The Spear of Destiny, (2013)
- Killing the Dead, (World Book Day 2015) - Short sequel to The Ghosts of Heaven
- Snow
Awards
- Branford Boase Award (2001) - Floodland
- Independent Reading Association Award nomination (2001) - Witch Hill
- Portsmouth Book Award nomination (2001) - Witch Hill
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize shortlist (2002) - The Dark Horse
- Carnegie Medal shortlist (2002) - The Dark Horse
- Blue Peter Book Award shortlist (2002) - The Dark Horse
- Guardian Prize nomination (2003) - The Book of Dead Days
- Sheffield Book Award shortlist (2003) - The Book of Dead Days
- Edgar Allan Poe shortlist (2003) - The Book of Dead Days
- Booktrust Teenage Prize shortlist (2006) - The Foreshadowing
- Carnegie Medal shortlist (2007) - My Swordhand Is Singing
- Nomination- Calderdale book of the year awards (2007) - My Swordhand Is Singing
- Booktrust Teenage Prize winner (2007) - My Swordhand Is Singing
- Costa Children's Book Award shortlist (2007) - Blood Red, Snow White
- Carnegie Medal shortlist (2010) - Revolver
- Carnegie Medal shortlist (2011) - White Crow
- Carnegie Medal shortlist (2013) - Midwinterblood
- Michael L. Printz Award (2014) - Midwinterblood[2]
- Carnegie Medal shortlist (2016) - The Ghosts of Heaven
- Michael L. Printz Honor (2016) - The Ghosts of Heaven
References
- 1 2 "Marcus Sedgwick". Answers.com. Retrieved 2014-02-11. Reprint from Something about the Author (Gale Biographies of Children's Authors, 2006).
- 1 2 "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). American Library Association. (ALA).
"The Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature". YALSA. ALA. Retrieved 2014-02-11. - ↑ Strickland, Ashley (27 January 2014). "And the Newbery, Caldecott award winners are ...". CNN.
- ↑ "Biography". Marcus Sedgwick (marcussedgwick.com). Retrieved 2015-01-21.
- ↑ McCarry, Sarah (16 January 2015). "'The Darkest Part of the Forest' and 'The Ghosts of Heaven'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- 1 2 3 4 Marcus Sedgwick at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Retrieved 2015-01-21. Select a title to see its linked publication history and general information. Select a particular edition (title) for more data at that level, such as a front cover image or linked contents.
- ↑ http://marcussedgwick.com/DSM.html
External links
- Official website
- Marcus Sedgwick at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Marcus Sedgwick at Library of Congress Authorities, with 15 catalogue records
- Story behind A Love Like Blood – Online Essay by Marcus Sedgwick