David almond when was he born

Early life and education Almond was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in and raised in neighbouring Felling. His father was an office manager in an engineering factory and his mother a shorthand typist. He was raised Catholic and had four sisters and one brother.

As a child, he dreamed of becoming a writer and "wrote stories and stitched them into little books. After graduating, Almond worked as a teacher for five years; he then moved to an artists' commune in Norfolk and concentrated on his writing.

He returned to Newcastle and worked as a part-time special needs teacher while editing the literary journal Panurge. Career Almond published his first novel in , Sleepless Nights.

His second novel, A Kind of Heaven , appeared in He then wrote a series of stories which drew on his own childhood, and which would eventually be published as Counting Stars , published by Hodder in In the next seven years, four more novels by Almond made the Carnegie Medal shortlist of five to eight books. The jury citation praised both his imaginative approach and his ability to actively engage and stimulate his readers: " Almond captures his young readers' imagination and motivates them to read, think and be critical.

His use of language is sophisticated and reaches across the ages. Almond experienced two bereavements during his otherwise fairly happy childhood: the death of his baby sister when he was seven and, during his teens, the early death of his father. He was, therefore, acutely aware at a young age of both the joy and darkness of life.

His fiction embodies this understanding of life's seemingly contradictory and fluctuating nature and is, like the work of Blake, quite dialectic in tone, exploring the interaction of good and bad, pleasure and pain, and so on. His tone avoids bleakness - though he does explore the darker side of life, he depicts his characters learning to accept both darkness and lightness, as Almond himself comments: "Growing up [ After many years of writing fiction for adults, Almond's first novel for children, Skellig , was an instant success, both commercially and critically.

The first print-run sold out within a few days, and the novel achieved the rare honour of two prestigious awards: the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. Skellig draws on Almond's own childhood experiences: the protagonist, Michael, has a baby sister who is seriously ill and the family is therefore in emotional chaos.

However, while Almond was helpless to save his own sister, Michael finds a mysterious source of help in the garage: Skellig, a surreal creature who is part-tramp and part-angel, neither wholly ordinary nor wholly supernatural. However, like most of Almond's child characters, Michael is by no means a passive beneficiary: on the contrary, it is Skellig who first needs help from Michael and his friend Mina, who nurture him with food, medicine and friendship.

Skellig has been acclaimed, particularly for the way in which it intertwines the realist elements of the story - the crisis experienced by Michael and his family as the baby undergoes major surgery - with subtle threads of the spiritual and the supernatural.

Almond also keeps some of the story's mysterious elements open-ended - by refusing to fill in all the gaps, he allows his readers space to think for themselves. Almond's subsequent novels for children and teens continue in a similar vein, poignantly combining the everyday reality of growing up with suggestions of magic, mystery and spiritual elements.

Kit's Wilderness features another young boy, year-old Kit, who has just moved with his family to a old coal-mining town in order to be close to his ageing grandfather. In this novel, the echoes of Almond's childhood environment are particularly acute, for as Kit gets to know his new town and its surrounding area, the novel paints detailed, poignant images of north-eastern landscape and history. Again, daily domestic and emotional life connects to a wider sphere: Kit must adjust to a new school and new friends, while his introduction to his schoolmates' game of 'Death' in the old mines links him to the ancestors of local people.

Meanwhile, his grandfather encourages him to explore his imagination by writing his own stories, and thus Kit, like Almond, learns to intertwine the ordinary world with magic and creativity through the power of storytelling.

The Fire-Eaters , set during the Cuban Missile Crisis in , tells the story of year-old Bobby as he grows up in a coastal village in the shadow of threatening nuclear war.

Bobby's developing perceptions of life and humankind are thus indelibly marked by this experience of approaching adulthood in a world that is facing the threat of destruction. Alongside this, Bobby's father is ill and his school-teacher is inflicting cruelty - thus, Bobby's personal world begins to shake, just as the wider world is also under threat. Yet, like most of Almond's child characters, Bobby is strong and resilient, while the author adds another dimension to the story in the form of McNulty, a fire-eating street performer who demonstrates the ability to transcend pain.

Clay is also set in s Northumberland, exploring a working-class Catholic community and gradually bringing in supernatural elements. It is very much a crossover novel - its darker nature makes it more suitable for teens and even adult readers. Teenagers Davie and Geordie befriend Stephen, a strange and mysterious new boy who makes models out of clay.

Stephen shows his new friends that they can make things come to life, but these new-found supernatural powers bring chaos and confusion to Davie's life. In this novel, Almond delves into the more chilling and disturbing elements of the supernatural - Clay is a gripping read, haunting and somewhat sinister, as Stephen's mind-games bring terrible consequences.

My dad had been in Burma If you enjoyed: Raven Summer. He is the author of three novels, as well as a collection of short stories. At thirty-four, he was the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Viareggio-Repaci prize for I'm Not We recommend 34 similar authors. A powerful novel of two unconventional American sisters who volunteer at the front during World War I.

To limit the press is to insult a nation; to prohibit reading of certain books is to declare the inhabitants to be Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes! Your guide to exceptional books.

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info and giveaways by email. David Almond How to pronounce David Almond: To quote the author, his name is pronounced "just like the nut".

David Almond Biography. Books by this author. More about membership! Full Interview. Readalikes All the books below are recommended as readalikes for David Almond but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right. How we choose readalikes. View all 34 Readalikes. Find out more. Cataclysmic floods.

Unprecedented heat waves and protracted droughts. Devastating wildfires breaking The little-known Amur River, the 10th longest in the world, acts as the natural border of Russia and West Moss is an award-winning writer of essays and short stories. Our First Impressions reviewers Book Club Discussion. A deliciously strange and daringly original novel from Pulitzer Prize finalist Margaret Verble. About Discuss. Reader Reviews. Who Said