Elizabeth Laird (born 1943) is a British writer of children's fiction and travel. She is also known for the large body of folktales which she collected from the regions of Ethiopia. Her books have been translated into at least twenty languages.

Biography

Laird was born in New Zealand in 1943. She was the fourth child of her Scottish father and New Zealand mother. The family settled in Purley, near London in 1945. A fifth child was born in 1947. He suffered severe disabilities and died in 1949. Laird's first children's novel, ''

Red Sky in the Morning ''Red Sky in the Morning'' is a young adult novel by Elizabeth Laird, first published in 1988. The novel was published as ''Loving Ben'' in its initial American release. Plot Anna is happy when her parents announce to her that they are ha ...

'' (Heinemann, 1988), was inspired in some measure by her brother's life. Laird has been a judge of the

Walter Scott Prize The Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction is a British literary award founded in 2010.Walter Sc ...

for Historical Fiction since its inception in 2010. Laird has received several awards for her work, and has been shortlisted six times for the Carnegie Medal for British children's literature.

Selected works

Children's novels

* ''

'' aka ''Loving Ben'' (1988) * '' Kiss the Dust'' (1991) * ''Hiding Out'' (1993) * ''Secret Friends'' (1996) * ''Jay'' (1997) * '' Jake's Tower'' (2001) * ''

The Garbage King ''The Garbage King'' is a 2003 children's fiction book written by Elizabeth Laird and illustrated by Yosef Kebede. Laird was inspired to write the book after living and working in Ethiopia, where, in Addis Ababa, she saw children who lived on ...

'' (2003) * ''

A Little Piece of Ground ''A Little Piece of Ground'' is a young adult fiction, young adult novel by Elizabeth Laird (author), Elizabeth Laird, written with Sonia Nimr. The book is about a twelve-year-old boy and his family struggling under the oppression of occupation ...

'' (with Sonia Nimr, 2003) * ''Paradise End'' (2004) * ''Secrets of the Fearless'' (2005) * ''Oranges in No Man's Land'' (2006) * ''

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...

'' (2007) * ''Lost Riders ''(2008) * ''The Witching Hour'' (2009) * ''The Betrayal of Maggie Blair'' (2011) * ''The Prince who Walked with Lions'' (2012), about

Prince Alemayehu ''Dejazmatch'' Alemayehu Tewodros, often referred to as HIH Prince Alemayehu or Alamayou of Ethiopia (23 April 1861 – 14 November 1879) was the son of Emperor Tewodros II and Empress Tiruwork Wube of Ethiopia. Biography Alemayu's father, Emp ...

* ''The Fastest Boy in the World'' (2014) * ''Dindy and the Elephant'' (2015) * ''Welcome to Nowhere'' (2017) * ''Song of the Dolphin Boy'' (2018) * ''A House Without Walls'' (2019)

Picture books

* ''Rosy's Garden'' (1979) * ''A Book of Promises'' (1999) * ''Beautiful Bananas'' (2004) * ''Grobblechops'' (2019)

Folkstory Collections

* ''When the World Began: Stories from Ethiopia'' (2001) * ''Pea Boy: Stories from Iran'' (2009) * ''The Jackal and the Rabbit: Fables of Kalilah and Dimnah'' (2013)

Short stories

* ''Me and My Electric'' (1998) * ''Hot Rock Mountain'' (2004)

The Ethiopian Story Collecting Project

Laird set up The Ethiopian Story Collecting Project in 1996 in collaboration with Michael Sargent, the British Council in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Ministry of Education with the aim of creating reading materials in English for use in Ethiopian schools. Stories were collected in every region, amounting to over 300 in total. They were published in English and Amharic o
www.ethiopianfolktales.com
A further website
www.ethiopianfolktalesforkids.com
contains a selection of the stories in simplified English with accompanying exercises and sound narration. Laird's account of her travels, the storytellers and the stories themselves was published by Birlinn in 2009 under the title ''The Lure of the Honey Bird''.

Awards and nominations

* ''

'' – Highly Commended for the '' Carnegie Medal''. * ''Hiding Out'' – Winner of the ''Smarties Young Judges Award''. * '' Jake's Tower'' – Shortlisted for the '' Carnegie Medal'' and the ''

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

''. *''

'' – Winner of the ''Scottish Arts Council Children's Book of the Year'' award and the'' Stockport Book'' award. It has also been shortlisted for the ''Carnegie Medal'', the ''Blue Peter Award'', the ''Salford Children's Book Award'', the ''Calderdale Children's Book Award'', the ''Lincolnshire Young People's Book Award'', the Stockton Children's Book of the Year, the West Sussex Children's Book Award, the ''Portsmouth Book Award'' and the ''Sheffield Children's Book Award''. * ''

'' – Winner of the ''

Hampshire Book Award The Hampshire Book Awards are an annual series of literary awards given to works of children's literature. The awards are run by Hampshire County Council's School Library Service. There are three awards: Hampshire Book Award, Hampshire Illustrat ...

'' and has been shortlisted for the ''Southern Schools Book Award''.

References

External links

* *
Elizabeth Laird Interview
at Jubilee Books
Review of ''Crusade''
at Book Bag *
Elizabeth Laird at Fantastic Fiction
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laird, Elizabeth 1943 births Living people British children's writers British writers of young adult literature People educated at Croydon High School 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British women writers British women children's writers British women novelists Women writers of young adult literature