Gene Kemp née Rushton (27 December 1926 – 4 January 2015) was an English author known for

children's books A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

. Her first, ''The Pride of Tamworth Pig'', appeared in 1972. She won the British Carnegie Medal for her school novel '' The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler'' (1977).

Background

Gene Kemp was born in

Wigginton, Staffordshire Wigginton is a village in the district of Lichfield, in Staffordshire, England. The population was included in the 2011 census with that of Tamworth, about to the north. History The name ''Wigginton'' is believed to come from Old English, an ...

in 1926 grew up near Tamworth, Staffordshire, and went to

Exeter University , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

. She became a teacher and taught at St Sidwell's School in

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

in the 1970s. From 1972 she wrote stories for young readers about a pig named Tamworth, named after the town she grew up in. Kemp found inspiration for many of the characters in her books amongst the friends of her children, Chantal and Richard. Her best known book is '' The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler'', published by Faber's Children's Books in 1977. Set in the fictional Cricklepit School, it charts the pleasures and pains of friendship and growing up. There are several Cricklepit books, including ''Snaggletooth's Mystery'', an alternative history of the school, and ''

Gowie Corby Plays Chicken ''Gowie Corby Plays Chicken'' () is a children's novel by Gene Kemp, set at the fictional Cricklepit Combined primary school in southern England. It was published in 1979. Plot The central character is Gowie Corby, a young boy with an absent fat ...

'', set one year after ''The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler'' and referencing Tyke in several chapters. Kemp wrote

ghost stories A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature''. ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

as well as

realistic fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditio ...

, like ''Seriously Weird'', which is told from the perspective of the sister of a young man with

Asperger syndrome Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger's, is a former neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by significant difficulties in Interpersonal relationship, social interaction and nonverbal communication, along with restricted and re ...

. She also dramatised some of her work, the most successful and well-known of these being ''Charlie Lewis Plays for Time'', another Cricklepit story. Gene Kemp was awarded an Honorary MA from

in 1984. She lived in

and had three children – a daughter, Judith, from her first marriage to Norman Pattison, which ended in divorce, and another daughter, Chantal, and a son, Richard, from her second marriage, to Allan Kemp, who died in 1990. She had three grandchildren and two great-grandsons. Kemp died at the age of 88 on 4 January 2015.

Awards

*Kemp won two awards for ''The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler'' (1997): the annual 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 ...

, for the year's best children's book by a British subject, and one from the Children's Rights Workshop. *She made the

Smarties Prize Smarties are colour-varied sugar-coated chocolate confectionery. They have been manufactured since 1937, originally by H.I. Rowntree & Company in the United Kingdom, and now by Nestlé. Smarties are oblate spheroids with a minor axis of abo ...

shortlist four times, in 1981 for ''The Clock Tower Ghost'', 1985 for ''Charlie Lewis Plays for Time'', 1986 for ''Juniper'' and 1990 for ''Just Ferret''.

Selected works

;As editor *''Ducks and Dragons'' *''The Puffin Book of Ghosts and Ghouls'' ;Cricklepit series *'' The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler'' (1977) *''

'' (1981) *''Charlie Lewis Plays for Time'' (1984) *''Just Ferret'' (1990) *''Zowey Corby's Story'' (1995) *''Zowey Corby and the Black Cat Tunnel'' (1996) *''Snaggletooth's Mystery'' (2002) ;Other books as author *''Dog Days and Cat Naps'' (1980) *''The Clock Tower Ghost'' (1981) *''Jason Bodger and the Priory Ghost'' (1985) *''Juniper'' (1986) *''Mr Magus is Waiting for You'' (1986) *''I Can't Stand Losing'' (1987) *''The Well'' (1988) *''No Place Like'' (1989) *''Seriously Weird'' (2003) *''The Haunted Piccolo'' (2004) *''Nothing Scares Me'' (2006)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Gene English children's writers Carnegie Medal in Literature winners 1926 births 2015 deaths People from Tamworth, Staffordshire

Background

Awards

Selected works

See also

References

External links