Geraldine McCaughrean

Geraldine McCaughrean
Born	Geraldine Jones (1951-06-06) June 6, 1951 (age 73) London, England
Occupation	Author of children's books
Notable works	A Pack of Lies (1988) The Stones Are Hatching (1999) The Kite Rider (2001) Stop the Train (2001) Smile! (2004) Peter Pan in Scarlet (2006) The Death-Defying Pepper Roux (2010) Where the World Ends (2017) The White Darkness (2020)
Notable awards	Whitbread Award for Children's Book (1987, 1994, 1996, 2004) Carnegie Medal (1988, 2018) Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (1989) Blue Peter Book Award (2000, 2001) Michael L. Printz Award (2008)
Spouse	John McCaughrean
Children	1

Geraldine McCaughrean (/məˈkɔːkrən/ mə-KAWK-rən;^[1] born 6 June 1951)^[2] is a British children's novelist. She has written more than 170 books, including Peter Pan in Scarlet (2004), the official sequel to Peter Pan commissioned by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the holder of Peter Pan's copyright. Her work has been translated into 44 languages worldwide.^[3] She has received the Carnegie Medal twice and the Michael L. Printz Award among others.

Personal life and education

McCaughrean was born 6 June 1951 in London to Leslie Arthur and Ethel Jones.^[2] The youngest of three children, she grew up in North London. McCaughrean attended Southgate Technical College from 1969 to 1970, then received a Bachelor of Education with honors from Christ Church College, Canterbury in 1977.^[2]

McCaughrean is married to John McCaughrean, with whom she has a daughter: Ailsa.^[2]

Career

McCaughrean studied teaching but found her true vocation in writing. She claims that what makes her love writing is the desire to escape from an unsatisfactory world.^{[citation needed]} Her motto is: do not write about what you know, write about what you want to know.^{[citation needed]}

McCaughrean's work includes many retellings of classic stories for children: The Odyssey, El Cid, The Canterbury Tales, The Pilgrim's Progress, Moby Dick, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights and Gilgamesh.

J. M. Barrie gave all rights to Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital in 1929, and in 2004, to coincide with Peter Pan's centenary, the hospital launched a competition to find the author of a sequel. McCaughrean won the competition, after submitting a synopsis and a sample chapter. Peter Pan in Scarlet was released internationally on 5 October 2006, published in the UK by Oxford University Press and in the US by Simon & Schuster.

McCaughrean has written many other children's fiction books including The Kite Rider, The Stones Are Hatching, and Plundering Paradise. She has also written six historical novels for adults including: The Maypole (1990), Fire's Astonishment (1991), Lovesong (1996) and The Ideal Wife (1997).

As of 2013, McCaughrean has launched an online novel based on the Hylas and Hercules myth, A Thousand Kinds of Ugly.

Awards and honours

For her lifetime contribution as a children's writer, McCaughrean was the British nominee in 2004 for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award, the highest international recognition available to creators of children's books.^[4] She was elected an Honorary Fellow of Canterbury Christ Church University in 2006 and a Fellow of the English Association in 2010. She has been a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature since 2010.^[5]

Four of McCaughrean's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Not the End of the World (2005),^[6] The White Darkness (2007),^[7] The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen (2011),^[8] and Where the World Ends (2020).^[9]

In 2002, The Horn Book Magazine included The Kite Rider on their list of the best children's fiction of the year.^[10]

In 2020, Booklist included Where the World Ends on their "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth" list.^[11]

Awards for McCaughrean's writing

Year	Title	Award	Result	Ref.
1987	A Little Lower Than the Angels	Whitbread Award for Children's Book	Winner	[12]
1988	A Pack of Lies	Carnegie Medal	Winner	[13][14][15]
1989		Guardian Children's Fiction Prize	Winner	[16][17]
1994	Gold Dust	Whitbread Award for Children's Book	Winner	[12][18]
1996	Plundering Paradise	Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (6–8 years)	Bronze	^[citation needed]
		Whitbread Award for Children's Book	Shortlist	[12][18]
2000	A Pilgrim's Progress	Blue Peter Book Award for Book of the Year	Winner	^[citation needed]
2001	The Kite Rider	Blue Peter Book Award for Best Book to Keep Forever	Winner	^[citation needed]
		Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (9–11 years)	Bronze	^[citation needed]
2002	Stop the Train	Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (9–11 years)	Bronze	^[citation needed]
		Carnegie Medal	Highly commended	[19]
2004	Smile!	Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (6–8 years)	Bronze	[20]
	Not the End of the World	Whitbread Award for Children's Book	Winner	[12][18]
2005	The White Darkness	Whitbread Award for Children's Book	Shortlist	[12]
2006	A Pack of Lies	ALSC Notable Children's Recordings	Selection	[21]
2007	The White Darkness	Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth	Selection	[22][23]
	Stop the Train!	Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults|	Selection	[24]
2008	The White Darkness	ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults	Selection	[25][26]
2008		Michael L. Printz Award	Winner	[27][28]
2011	The Death-Defying Pepper Roux	ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults	Selection	[29]
		American Library Association Rainbow List	Top 10	[30]
2018	Where the World Ends	Carnegie Medal	Winner	[15][31][32]
		Independent Bookshop Week Book Award	Winner	[33]
2020		Michael L. Printz Award	Honor	[9][34]

Selected bibliography

• A Little Lower Than the Angels (1987)
• A Pack of Lies (1988)
• Gold Dust (1993)
• Plundering Paradise (1996) (US title: The Pirate's Son)
• Forever X (1997)
• The Stones Are Hatching (1999)
• The Great Chase (2000)
• Stop the Train! (2001)
• The Kite Rider (2001)
• Showstopper! (2003)
• Smile! (2004)
• Not the End of the World (2004)
• The White Darkness (2005)
• Cyrano (2006)
• Peter Pan in Scarlet (2006)
• Tamburlaine's Elephants (2007)
• The Death-Defying Pepper Roux (2009)
• Pull Out All The Stops! (2010) (US title: The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen)
• Robin Hood & the Golden Arrow and a World of Other Stories (2011)
• The Positively Last Performance (2013)
• The Middle of Nowhere (2013)
• Where the World Ends (2017)
• The Supreme Lie (2021)

References

1. "Geraldine McCaughrean" in Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, entry updated 30 september 2001.
2. "McCaughrean, Geraldine 1951-". Encyclopedia.com. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
3. "geraldinemccaughrean". geraldinemccaughrean. Archived from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2016.
4. "2004" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Hans Christian Andersen Awards. International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY).
     "Hans Christian Andersen Awards" Archived 20 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. IBBY. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
5. "RSL Fellows". The Royal Society of Literature. Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
6. "Not the End of the World by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
7. "The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
8. "The Glorious Adventures of the Sunshine Queen by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
9. "Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean". Junior Library Guild. Archived from the original on 2 February 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
10. "Horn Book Fanfare 1938 to present". The Horn Book. 5 December 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
11. Smith, Julia (15 May 2020). "Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth: 2020". Booklist. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
12. "Past Winners" (PDF). Costa Book Awards. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
13. "Archive". The CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
14. (Carnegie Winner 1988) Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
15. "Awards: CILIP Carnegie, Kate Greenaway Medals; Miles Franklin". Shelf Awareness . 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
16. "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched". The Guardian. 12 March 2001. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
17. "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian 12 March 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
18. Rabinovitch, Dina (19 January 2005). "Author of the month: Geraldine McCaughrean". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
19. "Carnegie Medal Award" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Retrieved 13 July 2012.
20. Pauli, Michelle (8 December 2004). "Magic triumphs at Smarties prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 11 February 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
21. "A Pack of Lies | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
22. "2007 booklist editors choice youth | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 4 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
23. "Booklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2007". Booklist. 1 January 2008. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
24. "Stop the Train! | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 11 February 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2020. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
25. "The White Darkness | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 4 March 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
26. "Best Books for Young Adults: 2008". Booklist. 1 March 2008. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
27. "Michael L. Printz Winners and Honor Books" Archived 4 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine. YALSA. American Library Association. Retrieved 8 March 2013.
28. "The White Darkness | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 6 September 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
29. "2011 Best Fiction for Young Adults | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 12 January 2011. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
30. "2011 rainbow project booklist | Awards & Grants". American Library Association. 11 January 2011. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
31. "Geraldine McCaughrean, Sydney Smith Win 2018 Carnegie, Greenaway Medals". Publishers Weekly. 18 June 2018. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
32. Flood, Alison (18 June 2018). "Carnegie medal winner slams children's book publishers for 'accessible' prose". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
33. "Independent Bookshop Week Book Award 2019". Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
34. "2020 Printz Award". Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). 25 January 2021. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.

External links

• Official website
• "Neverland regained" at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 March 2008), review of Peter Pan in Scarlet by Mick Imlah, The Times Literary Supplement, 25 October 2006
• Geraldine McCaughrean at British Council: Literature
• Geraldine McCaughrean at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Our Authors, 2 (including McCaughrean) at Romaunce Books, publisher of romantic and historical fiction
• Geraldine McCaughrean at Library of Congress, with 72 library catalogue records