Tim Bowler
Tim Bowler (born 14 November 1953) is an English author of books for children, teenagers and young adults. He won the 1997 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject, for the novel River Boy.[1]
Tim Bowler | |
---|---|
Born | Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England | 14 November 1953
Occupation | Author |
Nationality | British |
Genre | Young adult literature, thriller |
Website | |
www |
The Sunday Telegraph has called him "the master of the psychological thriller" [2] and The Independent "one of the truly individual voices in British teenage fiction".[3]
Biography
Bowler was born in Leigh-on-Sea, and educated at Westcliff High School for Boys, and at the University of East Anglia where he studied Swedish and Scandinavian studies.
His first published novel was Midget (1994), a psychological thriller set in Leigh-on-Sea. This has been followed by several other novels: Dragon's Rock (1995), a thriller set in Devon; River Boy (1997), a story about love and bereavement and winner of the Carnegie Medal; Shadows (1999), a love story; Storm Catchers (2001), a kidnap thriller; Starseeker (2002), an exploration of love, loss and music, also made into a play; Apocalypse (2004), an allegory about the future of mankind; Frozen Fire (2006), a philosophical thriller about the nature of reality; Bloodchild (2008), a story about memory, secrets and betrayal; Buried Thunder (2011), a dark psychological thriller; and Sea of Whispers (2013), a haunting and mysterious story set on the remote island of Mora.
Blade (2008 to 2013) is a series of urban thrillers. Reviewing it for The Bookbag, Jill Murphy wrote, "Nobody in children's writing is producing anything like this. It's electrifying."[4] Some editions in translation (e.g. Germany and Korea) are four books, each comprising two original volumes.
Bowler speaks at conferences, schools, and book festivals and makes regular appearances on radio. He lives in a village in Devon and writes in a small stone outhouse.[5]
- Midget (1994)
- Dragon's Rock (1995)
- River Boy (1997)
- Shadows (1999)
- Storm Catchers (2001)
- Starseeker (2002); US title, Firmament
- Apocalypse (2004)
- Tales from the Dark Side
- Blood on Snow (2004)
- Walking with the Dead (2005)
- Frozen Fire (2006)
- Bloodchild (2008)
- Blade
- Playing Dead (2008)
- Closing In (2008)
- Breaking Free (2009)
- Running Scared (2009)
- Fighting Back (2009)
- Mixing It (2010)
- Cutting Loose (2010)
- Risking All (2010)
- Buried Thunder (2011)
- Sea of Whispers (2013)
- Night Runner (2014)
- Game Changer (2015)
Awards
- 1995 Midget won the Boekenwelp Award (Belgium)
- 1995 Midget won the New York Library Book of the Teen Age (USA)
- 1997 River Boy won the Carnegie Medal[1]
- 1999 River Boy won the Angus Book Award[6]
- 2000 Shadows won the Angus Book Award[6]
- 2000 Shadows won the Lancashire Children's Book of the Year[7]
- 2002 Storm Catchers won the South Lanarkshire Book Award
- 2002 Storm Catchers won the Stockton Libraries Award
- 2002 Storm Catchers won the Stockport Schools' Book Award
- 2007 Frozen Fire won the Hull Book Award
- 2007 Frozen Fire won the Highland Book Award[8]
- 2007 Frozen Fire won the Redbridge Book Award [9]
- 2007 Frozen Fire won the Stockport Schools Book Award
- 2008 Frozen Fire won the South Lanarkshire Children’s Book Award [10]
- 2009 Frozen Fire won the Southern Schools Book Award
References
- (Carnegie Winner 1997) Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners. CILIP. Retrieved 2012-08-17.
- Hall, Dinah (2 December 2006). "From toddlers to teens". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- The Independent
- The Bookbag
- Contemporary Writers Archived 14 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- Angus Book Award Archived 31 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Archived 5 December 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- Highland Book Award
- Redbridge Book Award Archived 7 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- South Lanarkshire Children's Book Award Archived 7 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine