Aidan Chambers - Festivaletteratura 2012

Aidan Chambers (born 27 December 1934) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

author of

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

and

young-adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

s. He won both the British Carnegie Medal and the American

Printz Award Printz is a surname and may refer to: People * Armegot Printz (1625–1695), Swedish noblewoman, daughter of Johan Björnsson Printz * David Printz (born 1980), Swedish ice hockey player * Gisèle Printz (born 1933), French politician * Göran P ...

for ''

Postcards from No Man's Land ''Postcards from No Man's Land'' is a young-adult novel by Aidan Chambers, published by Bodley Head in 1999. Two stories are set in Amsterdam during 1994 and 1944. One features 17-year-old visitor Jacob Todd during the 50-year commemoration of the ...

'' (1999). For his "lasting contribution to children's literature" he won the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 2002.

Life and work

Born near

Chester-le-Street Chester-le-Street (), also known as Chester, is a market town and civil parish in County Durham, England, around north of Durham and also close to Sunderland and Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the River Wear, which runs out to sea at Sun ...

, County Durham in 1934, Chambers was an only child, and a poor scholar; considered "slow" by his teachers, he did not learn to read fluently until the age of nine. After two years in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

as part of his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

, Chambers trained as a teacher and taught for three years at Westcliff High School in

Southend on Sea Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...

before joining an Anglican monastery in

Stroud Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021. Below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five ...

, Gloucestershire in 1960. His young-adult novel '' Now I Know'' (1987) is based partly on his experiences as a monk. His first plays, including ''Johnny Salter'' (1966), ''The Car'' and ''The Chicken Run'' (1968), were published while he was a teacher at

Archway School Archway School is a comprehensive co-educational school for pupils aged 11 to 18 in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. The headteacher is Kieron Smith. Set in at the western edge of the Cotswold town of Stroud, the school takes its name from a ...

. Chambers left the monastery in 1967 and a year later became a freelance writer. His works include the "Dance sequence" of six novels (1978 to 2005): '' Breaktime'', ''

Dance on My Grave ''Dance on My Grave'' is a 1982 young adult novel by British author Aidan Chambers. It is the second book in Chamber's six-novel Dance Sequence series. Its full title is ''Dance on My Grave: a life and a death in four parts, one hundred and sevent ...

'', '' Now I Know'', '' The Toll Bridge'', ''

'' and '' This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn''. He and his wife, Nancy, founded Thimble Press and the magazine ''Signal'' to promote literature for children and young adults. They were awarded the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British Children's literature, children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annua ...

for outstanding services to children's books in 1982. From 2003 to 2006 he was President of the

School Library Association The School Library Association (SLA) is an independent organization in the United Kingdom which promotes libraries and literacy in schools. The SLA was founded in 1937 and is based at Kembrey Park in north-eastern Swindon. It is a charity registe ...

Awards and honours

Chambers won two major annual

book award A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. ...

s for ''Postcards from No Man's Land'', published by

Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

in 1999, one being the Carnegie Medal from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

, recognising the year's best children's book by a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

. The other was the

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

for specifically young-adult literature, recognising the first US edition published three years later. He has also received several general awards and honours. *1979

Children's Literature Association The Children's Literature Association (ChLA) is a non-profit association, based in the United States, of scholars, critics, professors, students, librarians, teachers, and institutions dedicated to studying children's literature.Margaret W. Denman- ...

Award for Literary Criticism *1982

for Outstanding Services to Children's Books (shared with wife Nancy) *2002

in recognition of his distinguished body of writing. *2003 Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy from the

University of Umeå A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

*2008 Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Gloucestershire *2009 Elected Fellow Royal Society of Literature *2010 National Association for the Teaching of English (NATE) Award for Lifetime Services to English Education *2011 Honorary Doctorate of Literature from Oxford Brookes University

Books

Novels for young adults

*''Cycle Smash'' (1967) *''Marle'' (1968) *''Snake River'' (1975) *'' Breaktime'' (1978) *''

'' (1982) *'' Now I Know'' (1987) *'' The Toll Bridge'' (1992) *''

'' (1999) *'' This is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn'' (2005) *'' Dying to Know You'' (2012)

Novels for children

*''Seal Secret'' (1980) *''The Present Takers'' (1984). Chambers has also compiled and edited many other children's books, several concerning ghosts. ''Ghosts Four'' was edited as Malcolm Blacklin.

Short stories

*''The Kissing Game: Short Stories of Defiance and Flash Fictions'' (2011)

Criticism and education

*''The Reluctant Reader'' (1969) *''Introducing Books to Children'' (1973, 1983) *''Booktalk: occasional writing on literature and children'' (1985) *''The Reading Environment'' (1991) *''Tell Me: Children, Reading and Talk'' (1993) *''Reading Talk'' (2001) *''Tell Me: Children, Reading and Talk with The Reading Environment'' (2011)Thimble Press. *''The Age Between: Personal Reflections on Youth Fiction'' Fincham Press (2020)

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Aidan British children's writers Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing winners Michael L. Printz Award winners Anglican monks People from Chester-le-Street 1934 births Living people Royal Navy sailors Military personnel from County Durham 20th-century Royal Navy personnel