Tim Bowler (born 14 November 1953) is an author of books for teenagers and

young adults A young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages of human development significantly influencing the definition of ...

. He won the 1997 Carnegie Medal from the

CILIP 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 managers in the ...

, 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 ...

, for the novel '' River Boy''. ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'' has called him "the master of the psychological thriller" and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' "one of the truly individual voices in voices in British teenage fiction".''

Biography

Bowler was born in

Leigh-on-Sea Leigh-on-Sea (), commonly referred to simply as Leigh, is a town and civil parish in the City of Southend-on-Sea, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. In 2011, it had a population of 22,509. Geography Leigh-on-Sea is on the northern ...

, and educated at the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and 26 schools of study. The annual income of the institution f ...

where he studied Swedish and Scandinavian studies. His first published novel was ''

Midget Midget (from ''midge'', a tiny biting insect) is a term for a person of unusually short stature that is considered by some to be pejorative due to its etymology. While not a medical term like "dwarfism", a medical condition with a number of ca ...

'' (1994), a psychological thriller set in Leigh-on-Sea. This has been followed by several other novels: '' Dragon's Rock'' (1995), a thriller set in Devon; '' River Boy'' (1997), a story about love and bereavement and winner of the Carnegie Medal; ''

Shadows A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

'' (1999), a love story; '' Storm Catchers'' (2001), a kidnap thriller; '' Starseeker'' (2002), an exploration of love, loss and music, also made into a play; ''

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

'' (2004), an allegory about the future of mankind; ''

Frozen Fire Frozen Fire (born 2005) is a thoroughbred horse sired by Montjeu Montjeu (4 April 1996 – 29 March 2012) was an Irish-bred, French-trained thoroughbred horse racing racehorse and sire. In a racing career which lasted from September 1998 to ...

'' (2006), a philosophical thriller about the nature of reality; '' Bloodchild'' (2008), a story about memory, secrets and betrayal; '' Buried Thunder'' (2011), a dark psychological thriller; and Sea of Whispers (2013), a haunting and mysterious story set on the remote island of Mora. ''Blade'' (2008 to 2013) is a series of urban thrillers. Reviewing it for ''The Bookbag'', Jill Murphy wrote, "Nobody in children's writing is producing anything like this. It's electrifying."The Bookbag
/ref> Some editions in

translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

(e.g. Germany and Korea) are four books, each comprising two original volumes. Bowler speaks at conferences, schools, and book festivals and makes regular appearances on radio. He lives in a village 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. Devon is ...

and writes in a small stone outhouse.Contemporary Writers
*''

'' (1994) *'' Dragon's Rock'' (1995) *'' River Boy'' (1997) *''

'' (1999) *'' Storm Catchers'' (2001) *'' Starseeker'' (2002); US title, ''Firmament'' *''

'' (2004) * Tales from the Dark Side **''Blood on Snow'' (2004) **''Walking with the Dead'' (2005) *''

'' (2006) *'' Bloodchild'' (2008) * Blade **''Playing Dead'' (2008) **''Closing In'' (2008) **''Breaking Free'' (2009) **''Running Scared'' (2009) **''Fighting Back'' (2009) **''Mixing It'' (2010) **''Cutting Loose'' (2010) **''Risking All'' (2010) *'' Buried Thunder'' (2011) *''

Sea of Whispers The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

'' (2013) *''

Night Runner Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends on ...

'' (2014) *'' Game Changer'' (2015)

Awards

* 1995 ''Midget'' won the Boekenwelp Award (Belgium) * 1995 ''Midget'' won the New York Library Book of the Teen Age (USA) * 1997 ''River Boy'' won the Carnegie Medal * 1999 ''River Boy'' won the

Angus Book Award The Angus Book Award is a literary award for UK authors of teenage fiction. It is awarded by Angus Council in Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great B ...

Angus Book Award
* 2000 ''Shadows'' won the

* 2000 ''Shadows'' won the

Lancashire Children's Book of the Year The Lancashire Book of the Year (previously Lancashire Children's Book of the Year) is an award given to works of children's literature, voted for by a panel of young judges. It was established in 1986 with the first award presented the following ...

* 2002 ''Storm Catchers'' won the South Lanarkshire Book Award * 2002 ''Storm Catchers'' won the Stockton Libraries Award * 2002 ''Storm Catchers'' won the Stockport Schools' Book Award * 2007 ''Frozen Fire'' won the Hull Book Award * 2007 ''Frozen Fire'' won the Highland Book Award * 2007 ''Frozen Fire'' won the Redbridge Book Award * 2007 ''Frozen Fire'' won the Stockport Schools Book Award * 2008 ''Frozen Fire'' won the South Lanarkshire Children's Book AwardSouth Lanarkshire Children's Book Award
* 2009 ''Frozen Fire'' won the Southern Schools Book Award

References

External links

* * *
Tim Bowler at Fantastic Fiction

Tim Bowler at Oxford University Press

Tim Bowler at The Bookbag

''Blade'' mini-site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowler, Tim English children's writers British writers of young adult literature Carnegie Medal in Literature winners People from Leigh-on-Sea People educated at Westcliff High School for Boys Alumni of the University of East Anglia 1953 births Living people