Katherine Roberts is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

author, best known for her fantasy trilogy The Echorium Sequence. She spent most of her childhood in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. She is the daughter of Derek Robert, an electrical engineer, and Dorothy Margaret, a teacher.

Biography

Early life

Katherine Roberts spent most of her childhood in

and

where she was born.Katherine Roberts' biography at
/ref> She first entered education at an infant school in Redruth (

), later on joining the Oldway County Primary School in

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

(

) and then moving onto Torquay Grammar School for Girls (also in

). She graduated with a first degree in Mathematics from the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. Following on from that, she has had numerous jobs associated with programming computers, looking after racehorses and a job in a pet shop.

Writing career

In 1999, her first book ''

Song Quest ''Song Quest'' is a fantasy novel by Katherine Roberts. It is the first book in The Echorium Sequence, followed by '' Crystal Mask ''and'' Dark Quetzal''. The novel was first published in 1999 by Chicken House as a hardback copy; later on in ...

'' was published, winning the

Branford Boase Award The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist." The award is sha ...

for children. She later published '' Crystal Mask'' (2001) and '' Dark Quetzal'' (2003) which were both in the same series. In 2001, she published the first novel in The Seven Fabulous Wonders series called '' The Great Pyramid Robbery'', which the '' Sunday Express'' said was "A terrific tale of plots, curses and evil forces set in ancient Egypt".Quotes on The Great Pyramid Robberybr>
/ref> This was followed on with '' The Babylon Game'' in 2002, which was said to be "Incredible... adventures that twist and turn and will have you spellbound on every page," by the Children's Book of the Week, South Wales Evening Post.Quotes on The Babylon Gamebr>
/ref> The same year, the third book in the series, '' The Amazon Temple Quest'', was published, and in 2003, '' The Mausoleum Murder'' was also published. Following on from this, in 2004 and 2005, '' The Olympic Conspiracy'' and '' The Colossus Crisis'' were also published within the series. The series concluded in 2006 with the seventh book, '' The Cleopatra Curse''. Katherine Roberts has also produced other books such as '' Spellfall'', which ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' Children's Book of the Week said, "this magical and fantastical story from Roberts has lessons for real children about taking responsibility.",Quotes on '' Spellfall'

/ref> ''Spell Wars'' (2000), and '' I Am the Great Horse'' (2006). She mainly writes within the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving 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 literature and d ...

genre, and she is currently encouraging local schools to interest children in creative writing.

Bibliography

Katherine Roberts has written a range of books, mostly belonging to The Echorium Sequence and The Seven Fabulous Wonders series. She has also written several short stories.

The Echorium Sequence

* ''

'' (1999) * '' Crystal Mask'' (2001) * '' Dark Quetzal'' (2003)

The Seven Fabulous Wonders

* '' The Great Pyramid Robbery'' (2001) * '' The Babylon Game'' (2002) * '' The Amazon Temple Quest'' (2002) * '' The Mausoleum Murder'' (2003) * '' The Olympic Conspiracy'' (2004) * '' The Colossus Crisis'' (2005) * '' The Cleopatra Curse'' (2006)

Pendragon Legacy

* '' Sword of Light'' (2012) * '' Lance of Truth'' (2012) * '' Crown of Dreams'' (2013) * '' Grail of Stars'' (2014) * ''Horse of Mist'' (prequel) (2014)

Earthaven

* '' Spellfall'' (2001) * ''Spell Spring'' (2016)

Other books

* '' I Am the Great Horse'' (2006) * ''Magical Horses'' (2009) * ''Death Singer and other fantasy tales'' (2011)

Awards

* Raconteur Award (1995) - ''Across the Water'' * Story Cellar Award (1994) - ''Mars Take Seed Make Man'' * Grotesque Readers Award (1996) - ''Fatstock'' * Broadsword Fiction of the Year Award (1996) - ''Under the Eyemoon'' *

(2000) - ''

References

External links

Katherine Robert's website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Katherine English children's writers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Redruth Writers from Torquay Place of birth missing (living people) People from Paignton Alumni of the University of Bath People educated at Torquay Grammar School for Girls