Frank Cottrell-Boyce (born 23 September 1959)"COTTRELL-BOYCE, Frank", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2009 ; online edn, Nov 200

Retrieved 2010-05-16. is an English people, English screenwriter,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

and occasional actor, known for his

children's fiction Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

and for his collaborations with film director

Michael Winterbottom Michael Winterbottom (born 29 March 1961) is an English film director. He began his career working in British television before moving into features. Three of his films—''Welcome to Sarajevo'', ''Wonderland'' and ''24 Hour Party People''—h ...

. He has achieved fame as the writer for the

2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proce ...

and for sequels to '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car'', a children's classic by Ian Fleming. Cottrell-Boyce has won two major British awards for children's books, the 2004 Carnegie Medal for '' Millions'', which originated as a film script, and the 2012 Guardian Prize for ''The Unforgotten Coat'', which was commissioned by a charity.

Personal life

Cottrell-Boyce was born in 1959 in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. Historically part of Lancashire, Bootle's ...

near Liverpool to a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family. He moved to

Rainhill Rainhill is a village and civil parish within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 10,853. Historically part of Lancashire, Rainhill was formerly a townsh ...

, while still at primary school. He attended St Bartholomew's Primary School in Rainhill and West Park Grammar School. He was greatly influenced by reading ''

Moomins The Moomins ( sv, Mumintroll) are the central characters in a series of novels, short stories, and a comic strip by Finns, Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish language, Swedish by Schildts in Finland. The ...

'' growing up. He read English at Keble College, Oxford, where he went on to earn a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''li ...

. He wrote criticism for the magazine '' Living Marxism''. As a result, there was supposedly always a copy of the magazine on sale in the newsagent set of long-running British soap '' Coronation Street'', while Cottrell-Boyce was on the writing staff of that programme. He met Denise Cottrell, a fellow Keble undergraduate, and they married in Keble College chapel. Together they have seven children. He is also a patron of the Insight Film Festival, a biennial, interfaith festival held in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, UK, to make positive contributions to understanding, respect and community cohesion. Aidan Cottrell-Boyce, one of the couple's sons, is also a writer.

Career

After he met

, the two collaborated on ''Forget About Me''. Winterbottom made five further films based on screenplays written by Cottrell-Boyce, ''

Butterfly Kiss ''Butterfly Kiss'' (alternative title ''Killer on the Road'') is a 1995 British film, directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It stars Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves. The film was entered into the 45th Berlin Int ...

'', ''

Welcome to Sarajevo ''Welcome to Sarajevo'' is a 1997 war drama film directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and is based on the book '' Natasha's Story'' by Michael Nicholson. The film stars Stephen Dillane, Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tom ...

'', '' The Claim'', ''

24 Hour Party People ''24 Hour Party People'' is a 2002 British biographical comedy-drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Wint ...

'' and ''

Code 46 ''Code 46'' is a 2003 British film directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and starring Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton. Produced by BBC Films and Revolution Films, the film is a dystopian sci-fi love story, explor ...

''. Their 2005 collaboration, ''

A Cock and Bull Story ''A Cock and Bull Story'' (marketed in Australia, New Zealand and the United States as ''Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story'') is a 2005 British comedy film directed by Michael Winterbottom. It is a film-within-a-film, featuring Steve Coo ...

'', is their last according to Cottrell-Boyce, who asked that his contribution be credited to "Martin Hardy", a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

. He told ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', "I just had to move on ... what better way to walk away than by giving Winterbottom a good script for free?" Other film directors Cottrell-Boyce has worked with include

Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...

('' Millions''),

Alex Cox Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and co ...

(''

Revengers Tragedy ''Revengers Tragedy'' is a 2002 film adaptation of the 1606 play ''The Revenger's Tragedy'' (attributed to Thomas Middleton in the credits, following the scholarly consensus). It was directed by Alex Cox and adapted for the screen by Cox's fello ...

''), Richard Laxton ('' Grow Your Own'') and Anand Tucker (''

Hilary and Jackie ''Hilary and Jackie'' is a 1998 British biographical film directed by Anand Tucker, starring Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths as the British classical musician sisters Jacqueline du Pré (cello) and Hilary du Pré (flute). The film covers Jacqu ...

''). Cottrell-Boyce has been praised by Roger Ebert as one of the few truly inventive modern-day screenwriters. He has spoken against the "three-act structure" and the "hero's journey" formulas, which are often regarded as axiomatic truths in the business. perhaps his most famous example of this is in ''

'' where the character of Anthony Wilson states that “Scott Fitzgerald said there are no second acts in American lives. This is Manchester. We do things differently. This is the second act” which Cottrell-Boyce has stated was due to criticism of the script not following the three act structure. In addition to original scripts, Cottrell-Boyce has also adapted novels for the screen and written children's fiction. His first novel '' Millions'' was based on his own screenplay for the film of the same name; it was published by Macmillan in 2004. Cottrell-Boyce won the annual Carnegie Medal from the

British librarians 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, ...

, recognising it as the year's best children's book published in the U.K. His next novel '' Framed'', he made the shortlist for both the Carnegie and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. He adapted it as a screenplay for a 2009 BBC television film. He made the Carnegie shortlist again for ''Cosmic'' (2008). In 2011, he was commissioned to write a sequel to the Ian Fleming children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, which was published in October 2011 as '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again'' In addition to ''Coronation Street'', he wrote many episodes of the soap opera ''

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

'', as well as its spin-off ''

Damon and Debbie ''Damon and Debbie'' is a three-part spin-off from the Channel 4 soap opera ''Brookside'' first broadcast in November 1987. A Mersey Television production, it was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, directed by Bob Carlton, and produced by Colin M ...

''. He wrote and staged his first original theatre production ''Proper Clever'' at the Liverpool Playhouse during the city's European Capital of Culture Year, in 2008. On 18 September 2010, he co-presented the Papal Visit at Hyde Park with TV personality

Carol Vorderman Carol Jean Vorderman, HonFIET (born 24 December 1960) is a Welsh media personality, best known for appearing on the game show ''Countdown'' for 26 years from 1982 until 2008, as a newspaper columnist and nominal author of educational and diet ...

. In June 2012, he assumed the position of Professor of Reading (the first such professorship) at

Liverpool Hope University , mottoeng=Hope to all who need it , established=1844 – Saint Katharine's College (as Warrington Training College)1856 – Notre Dame College (as Our Lady's Training College)1964 – Christ's College1979 – Liverpool Institute of Higher Edu ...

. Cottrell-Boyce was the writer of the

, whose storyline he based on

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's '' The Tempest''. He collaborated with director

and other members of the creative team, including designer Mark Tildesley, in the development of the story and themes, and wrote "short documents that told the story of each segment" to provide context for choreographers, builders and other participants. He also wrote the brochure, the stadium announcements and the media guide for presenter

Huw Edwards Huw Edwards (; born 18 August 1961) is a Welsh journalist, presenter, and newsreader. Edwards presents ''BBC News at Ten'', the corporation's flagship news broadcast. Edwards also presents BBC coverage of state events, international events, th ...

. Three months later, Cottrell-Boyce won the 2012

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 ...

for ''The Unforgotten Coat''. That story of a crosscultural friendship was inspired by a

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

n girl he met as a writer visiting her school, whose family was subsequently deported by the British immigration office. It was commissioned by Reader Organisation of Liverpool and 50,000 copies were given away. The Guardian Prize is judged by a panel of British children's writers and recognises the year's best book by an author who has not yet won it. Interviewed by the sponsoring newspaper, Cottrell-Boyce told ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' that "I'm definitely a children's writer that's what I want to be. I'm always trying to get rid of everything else. ... The movies I'm doing are ones that have been on the blocks for a long time." Cottrell-Boyce was made an Honorary Doctor of Literature at

Edge Hill University Edge Hill University is a campus-based public university in Ormskirk, Lancashire, England, which opened in 1885 as Edge Hill College, the first non-denominational teacher training college for women in England, before admitting its first male stu ...

on 16 July 2013. In 2014, Cottrell-Boyce wrote an episode of '' Doctor Who'', titled " In the Forest of the Night". He also wrote the second episode of the tenth series, "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses ...

". In September 2015, Cottrell-Boyce held th
keynote speech
at the Children´s and Young Adult Program of the 15th international literature festival berlin. In January 2018, he was on the victorious

Keble College Keble College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its main buildings are on Parks Road, opposite the University Museum and the University Parks. The college is bordered to the north by Keble Road, to ...

, Oxford ''

University Challenge ''University Challenge'' is a British television quiz programme which first aired in 1962. ''University Challenge'' aired for 913 episodes on ITV from 21 September 1962 to 31 December 1987, presented by quizmaster Bamber Gascoigne. The BBC ...

'' "famous alumni" team; he got almost all of the points scored by Keble (total score 240) and was lionized on social media as a consequence;

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

scored 0 in that game, thus making television history.

Novels

* '' Millions'' (2005) *'' Framed'' (2005) * ''Cosmic'' (2008) * ''Desirable'' (2008) * ''The Unforgotten Coat'' (2011) * '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again'' (2011) * ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time'' (2012) * ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon'' (2013) * ''The Astounding Broccoli Boy'' (2015) * ''Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth'' (2016) * ''Runaway Robot'' (2019) * ''Noah's Gold'' (2021)Macmillan Children's Books

Appearances

* March 2010 – ''

Desert Island Discs ''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942. Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...

'' * December 2017 - ''

Writing credits

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

Awards

*2004: Buch des Monats des Instituts für Jugendliteratur/Book of the Month by the Institute for Youth Literature (Germany), ''Millions'' *2004: Carnegie Medal, ''Millions'' *2004: Luchs des Jahres (Germany), ''Millions'' *2004: Eule des Monats (Germany), ''Millions'' *2005:

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 ...

, shortlist, ''Millions'' *2005: Carnegie Medal, shortlist, ''Framed'' *2006: Die besten 7 (Germany), ''Framed'' *2008: Guardian Prize, shortlist, ''Cosmic'' *2009: Carnegie Medal, shortlist, ''Cosmic'' *2011:

Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award The Gelett Burgess Children's Book Award is an annual award presented by the Gelett Burgess Center for Creative Expression. Named for Gelett Burgess, an artist and writer famous for his humorous Goops series (1900-1950), this award recognizes out ...

, Honors, ''Cosmic'' *2011:

Costa Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, the ...

, shortlist, ''The Unforgotten Coat''

References

External links

Author's Blog
—April/May 2007 * * *
WriteAway interview with Frank Cottrell Boyce

Official Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again website

Mother Daughter Book Club.com, Interview with Frank Cottrell Boyce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cottrell Boyce, Frank 1959 births Living people People from Rainhill 21st-century English novelists Academics of Liverpool Hope University Alumni of Keble College, Oxford Carnegie Medal in Literature winners English children's writers English dramatists and playwrights English male novelists English Roman Catholics English screenwriters English male screenwriters English soap opera writers English television writers Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners English male dramatists and playwrights British male television writers