Jan Mark (22 June 1943 – 16 January 2006) was 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, ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

best 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 ...

. In all she wrote over fifty novels and plays and many anthologised short stories. She won the annual Carnegie Medal from the

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

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, both for ''

Thunder and Lightnings ''Thunder and Lightnings'' is a realistic children's novel by Jan Mark, published in 1976 by Kestrel Books of Harmondsworth in London, with illustrations by Jim Russell. Set in Norfolk, it features a developing friendship between two boys who s ...

'' (1976) and for ''

Handles A handle is a part of, or attachment to, an object that allows it to be grasped and manipulated by hand. The design of each type of handle involves substantial ergonomic issues, even where these are dealt with intuitively or by following tra ...

'' (1983). She was also a "Highly Commended" runner up for ''Nothing To Be Afraid Of'' (1980). In addition, she has won the Carnegie Medal twice.

Life

Janet Marjorie Brisland was born in

Welwyn Garden City Welwyn Garden City ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London. It was the second garden city in England (founded 1920) and one of the first new towns (designated 1948). It is unique in being both a garden city and a new town and ...

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and was raised and educated in

Ashford Ashford may refer to: Places Australia *Ashford, New South Wales *Ashford, South Australia *Electoral district of Ashford, South Australia Ireland *Ashford, County Wicklow *Ashford Castle, County Galway United Kingdom * Ashford, Kent, a town ** ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. She was a secondary school teacher between 1965 and 1971 and became a full-time writer in 1974. She was married once and divorced, and was survived by her daughter Isobel and son Alex. Mark is known for acutely observed short stories that are concise and show an imaginative use of language. She also wrote novels about seemingly ordinary children in contemporary settings, such as ''Thunder and Lightnings'', as well as science fiction novels set in their own universes with their own rules, such as ''The Ennead''. Her last works include the young adult novels ''The Eclipse of the Century'' and ''Useful Idiots''. The title of ''Thunder and Lightnings'', a story set in rural

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, is a reference to the British RAF jet fighter the

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...

and in turn inspired the name of a website documenting

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

British military aircraft.Thunder & Lightnings
/ref> Jan Mark was popular in Flanders, Belgium, where she participated in an educational project to stimulate teachers of English into using teenage fiction in the classroom. Her

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

friends devoted a website to her and to her work

Jan Mark died suddenly at her home in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

from

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

-related

septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in January 2006, aged 62.

Selected works

*''King John and the Abbot'' (2006) *''Voyager'' (2006) the sequel to ''Riding Tycho'' *''

Turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

'' (2005) *''Riding Tycho'' (2005) *''Useful Idiots'' (2004) *''The Eclipse of the Century'' (1999) *''Mr Dickens Hits Town'' (1999) *''The Midas Touch'' (1999) *''My Frog and I'' (1997) *''The Tale of Tobias'' (1996) *''They Do Things Differently There'' (1994) *''Fun With Mrs Thumb'' (1993) *''

Enough Is Too Much Already ''Enough Is Too Much Already'' is a short story collection for teenagers by Jan Mark, published in 1988. The short stories are written entirely in dialogue. They revolve around the exploits of Nazzer, Nina, and Maurice, three sixth form student ...

'' (1988) *''Zeno Was Here'' (1988) *''Fun'' (1988) *''Trouble Half-way'' (1986) *''Fur'' (1986) *''

'' (1985) *''Feet and Other Stories'' (1983) *''Aquarius'' (1982) *''The Dead Letter Box'' (1982) *''Nothing To Be Afraid Of'' (1981) *''

Hairs in the Palm of the Hand ''Hairs in the Palm of the Hand'' is a collection of short stories written for children by British author Jan Mark, published in 1981. The book consists of two novellas, ''Time and the Hour'' and ''Chutzpah''. It also became a Chivers Audio boo ...

'' (1981) *''Divide and Rule'' (1980) *'' The Ennead'' (1978) *''Under the Autumn Garden'' (1977) *''

'' (1976)

Notes

References

Obituary in The Guardian

Obituary in The Times

Obituary by Nicholas Tucker in The Independent

External links

Jan Mark at Walker Books

Jan Mark at Fantastic Fiction

Jan Mark's Flemish fansite

Jan Mark resources and information
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mark, Jan 1943 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British educators 20th-century British novelists 20th-century British short story writers 20th-century British women writers 20th-century British writers 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English educators 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British educators 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British short story writers 21st-century British women writers 21st-century British writers 21st-century English dramatists and playwrights 21st-century English educators 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers 21st-century English writers British fantasy writers British horror writers British schoolteachers British science fiction writers British speculative fiction writers British women children's writers British women dramatists and playwrights British women educators British women novelists British women short story writers British women writers British writers of young adult literature Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Deaths from meningitis Deaths from sepsis English fantasy writers English horror writers English schoolteachers English science fiction writers English short story writers English speculative fiction writers English women dramatists and playwrights English women educators English women novelists English women writers Ghost story writers Infectious disease deaths in England Literacy and society theorists Neurological disease deaths in England People from Ashford, Kent People from Welwyn Garden City Psychological fiction writers Weird fiction writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers Women writers of young adult literature Writers of young adult science fiction