Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular

children's literature 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 ...

. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her large readership. Since her debut novel in 1969, Wilson has written over 100 books.

Early life

Jacqueline Aitken was born in Bath, Somerset, on 17 December 1945. Her father, Harry, was a civil servant and her mother, Biddy, was an antiques dealer. She particularly enjoyed books by

Noel Streatfeild Mary Noel Streatfeild Order of the British Empire, OBE (24 December 1895 –11 September 1986) was an English author, best known for children's books including the "Shoes" books, which were not a series (though some books made references to ...

, as well as American classics like ''

Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). Alcott wrote the book, originally published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869, at the request of her publisher. The story follows the live ...

'' and '' What Katy Did''. At the age of nine, she wrote her first "book", "Meet the Maggots", which was 21 pages long. Wilson was given the nickname Jacky Daydream at school, which she later used as the title of her autobiography, which tells of her life as a primary school-aged child. Wilson attended

Coombe Girls' School Coombe Girls' School is an all-girls secondary school and co-educational sixth form with academy status in New Malden, South-West London, England. The school is a Leading Edge School, a Training School and specialises in languages. The school a ...

in Surrey and Carshalton Technical College. After leaving school at age 16, she began training as a secretary but then applied to work with the

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

-based publishing company DC Thomson on a new girls' magazine, '' Jackie''.

Career

When Wilson began to focus on writing, she completed several

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

novels before dedicating herself to children's books. At the age of 40, she took A-level English and earned a grade A. She had mixed success with about 40 books before the breakthrough to fame in 1991 with '' The Story of Tracy Beaker'', published by Doubleday. As her children's novels frequently feature themes of adoption,

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

and mental illness, they tend to attract controversy, yet are well loved by children and adults alike.

University of Roehampton and charity work

In June 2013, Wilson was appointed a professorial fellow of the University of Roehampton, and a Pro-Chancellor. In February 2014, it was announced that she would be appointed Chancellor of the university (its honorary figurehead) from August 2014. She was reappointed in 2017 for a further three years. She teaches modules in both the Children's Literature and Creative Writing master's degree (MA) programmes offered by the university. She concluded her term as Chancellor in August 2020. Wilson is patron of the charity Momentum in

Kingston upon Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

, which helps Surrey children undergoing treatment for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

(and their families), and also a patron of the Letterbox Club, a BookTrust initiative. Until she moved away from Kingston-upon-Thames she was a patron of the

Friends of Richmond Park Richmond Park, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, is the largest of London's Royal Parks, and is of national and international importance for wildlife conservation. It was created by Charles I in the 17th century as a deer park ...

Reception

In The Big Read, a 2003 poll conducted by the BBC, four of Wilson's books were ranked among the 100 most popular books in the UK: '' Double Act'', '' Girls In Love'', '' Vicky Angel'', and '' The Story of Tracy Beaker''. Fourteen books by Wilson ranked in the top 200."BBC – The Big Read"
BBC. April 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2017 In 2002, she replaced Catherine Cookson as the most borrowed author in Britain's libraries, a position she retained until being overtaken by James Patterson in 2008.

Accolades

For her work, Wilson has won many awards including 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 abou ...

and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. ''The Illustrated Mum'' (1999) won the annual Guardian Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers, and the annual British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year; it also made the 1999 Whitbread Awards shortlist. ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' won the 2002 Blue Peter People's Choice Award, and ''Girls in Tears'' was the Children's Book of the Year at the 2003 British Book Awards. Two of her books were "Highly Commended" runners-up for the annual Carnegie Medal: ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' (1991) and ''Double Act'' (1995). In June 2002, Wilson was appointed an OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she served as the fourth Children's Laureate. In that role, Wilson urged parents and carers to continue reading aloud to children long after they are able to read for themselves. She also campaigned to make more books available for blind people and campaigned against cutbacks in children's television drama. In October 2005, she received an honorary degree from the University of Winchester in recognition of her achievements in and on behalf of children's literature. In July 2007, the University of Roehampton awarded her an Honorary Doctorate ( Doctor of Letters) in recognition of her achievements in and on behalf of children's literature. She has also received honorary degrees from the University of Dundee, the University of Bath and Kingston University. In the 2008 New Year Honours, Wilson was appointed

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(DBE). In July 2012, Dame Jacqueline was also elected an honorary fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.Laing, Stuart. "Domus" in ''The Letter'', Michaelmas 2012, 91, p.10
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge In 2017, Wilson received the Special Award at the BAFTA Children's Awards. For her lifetime contribution as a children's writer, Wilson was a UK nominee for the international Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2014. A lecture hall at Kingston University's Penrhyn Road campus has been named after her.

Adaptations

A dramatisation of Wilson's ''Double Act'', written and directed by Vicky Ireland, was first performed at The

Polka Theatre Polka Theatre is a children’s theatre in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton, for children aged 0– 13. The theatre contains two performance spaces - a 300-seat main auditorium and a 70-seat studio dedicated to early years performances. Polka ...

in Wimbledon, London from 30 January to 12 April 2003, and toured throughout the UK. The playscript was published by Collins Plays Plus. Ireland has also written dramatisations of ''The Lottie Project'' (performed at

and San Pol Theatre, Madrid), ''Midnight'', ''Bad Girls'' and ''Secrets'', which were also commissioned by the

, and a dramatisation of ''The Suitcase Kid'' which was performed at the

Orange Tree Theatre The Orange Tree Theatre is a 180-seat theatre at 1 Clarence Street, Richmond in south-west London, which was built specifically as a theatre in the round. It is housed within a disused 1867 primary school, built in Victorian Gothic style. Th ...

, Richmond and later toured throughout the UK. The scripts for these plays were published by Nick Hern Books. The following books by Wilson have been adapted for television: * ''Cliffhanger'' (1995,

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

). Part of ''Look, See and Read'', two-part drama. * '' Double Act'' (2002,

). Starring twins Zoe and Chloe Tempest-Jones as Ruby and Garnet, with a special appearance by Jacqueline Wilson as the casting director at the auditions. This was a one-off 100-minute feature. * '' The Story of Tracy Beaker'' (2002–2006,

CBBC CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 7–16 ...

). Starring Dani Harmer as Tracy and Lisa Coleman (whose sister,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, appeared in ''Double Act'' as Miss Debenham) as Cam. Original broadcast dates: 8 January 2002 – 9 February 2006. Since its original broadcasts, 15-minute versions have been shown on repeat on the CBBC Channel since 2007. * '' The Illustrated Mum'' (2003,

). Starring former '' EastEnders'' star Michelle Collins as Marigold Westward, who won a BAFTA Award for her role, and who went on to play Stella Price in Coronation Street, Alice Connor as Dolphin Westward and

Holly Grainger Holliday Clark Grainger (born 27 March 1988), also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'', Lu ...

as Star Westward. This was a four-part mini-series but later shown as a full feature with no ad breaks. It was again repeated at Christmas 2004. Original broadcast date: 5 December 2003. * ''Best Friends'' (2004, ITV). This was a six-part miniseries, but was originally broadcast as one feature with a slightly different ending. It starred Chloe Smyth as Gemma and Poppy Rogers as Alice. Original broadcast date: 3 December 2004. This was repeated on the CITV Channel on 6 March 2010. * '' Girls in Love'' ( ITV). Starring

Olivia Hallinan Olivia Hallinan (born 20 January 1985) is a British actress best known for her role as Laura Timmins in the BBC TV series ''Lark Rise to Candleford'' and also as Kim in the Channel 4 drama '' Sugar Rush.'' She also starred as Ellie in '' Girls ...

as Ellie, Zaraah Abrahams as Magda and Amy Kwolek as Nadine. There have been two series of ''Girls in Love'' broadcast. Original broadcast dates: 1 April 2003 – 18 April 2005. * ''

Dustbin Baby ''Dustbin Baby'' is a children's novel by Jacqueline Wilson. It focuses on April, a fourteen-year-old girl who was abandoned by her mother in a dustbin when she was only a few minutes old. After a blazing row with her foster mother, she goes ...

'' ( BBC). Featuring an A-list cast including Juliet Stevenson as Marion, David Haig as a new character, Elliot, and Dakota Blue Richards as April. Original broadcast date: 21 December 2008. * '' Tracy Beaker Returns'' (2010–2012). This is a series in which Tracy (Dani Harmer) returns to the "Dumping Ground" (Stowey House, whose name has been changed to Elm Tree House) to earn money for her new book because she used Cam's credit card without permission to publish it. She realises that Elm Tree House has changed and the new children act just like she did herself in her days. At times, she tries to help the children, concluding in the new social workers almost firing her. But sometimes she only gets the child's part of the story, then being told the whole thing and being totally confused and outraged. * '' The Tracy Beaker Survival Files'' (2011–2012). A spin-off series where Tracy teaches lessons about various subjects using her stories from the past, and clips from ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'' and ''Tracy Beaker Returns''. Original broadcast date: 17 December 2011 to 6 January 2012. * '' The Dumping Ground'' (2013–). The continued life at the Dumping Ground after Tracy Beaker moves on to a new care home, and focuses more on just one child in the care home. Not a book by Jacqueline Wilson but inspired by the Tracy Beaker novels. * ''

The Dumping Ground Survival Files ''The Dumping Ground Survival Files'' is a fifteen-part CBBC miniseries featuring various Dumping Ground characters, giving information on how to survive in The Dumping Ground. The show was made to accompany Series 2 of The Dumping Ground, it ...

'' (2014-2020). A spin-off series where the Dumping Ground kids teach lessons about various subjects using stories that have happened to them and their friends in the past, using clips from ''Tracy Beaker Returns'' and ''The Dumping Ground''. * '' Hetty Feather'' (2015–2020). Stars Isabel Clifton as Hetty Feather, living her life in the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word " hospita ...

and, later at the end of the third series, starting her life as a maid in service. * '' The Dumping Ground: I'm...'' (2016–2021). A spin-off series similar to the Survival Files, but instead where the characters make videos about themselves, who they are, what they like and stuff that's happened to them in their life. * '' Katy'' was made into a three-part TV series, '' Katy'', broadcast on

from 13 March 2018 to 16 March 2018. * '' Four Children and It'' was adapted into a feature film named ''

Four Kids and It ''Four Kids and It'' is a 2020 British fantasy film directed by Andy De Emmony and written by Simon Lewis and Mark Oswin. It is based on the 2012 novel '' Four Children and It'' by Jacqueline Wilson, which is based on E. Nesbit's 1902 novel '' ...

''. * ''My Mum Tracy Beaker'' was adapted into a three-part television series for CBBC, ''

My Mum Tracy Beaker ''My Mum Tracy Beaker'' is a British children's television miniseries that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 12 February 2021. The show was aired the week after The Dumping Ground's eighth series concluded. The series follows on from the eve ...

'', from 12 February 2021 to 14 February 2021. * ''We Are The Beaker Girls'' was adapted into a television series, also for CBBC, ''

The Beaker Girls ''The Beaker Girls'' is a British children's television series that premiered on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on 13 December 2021. The series follows on from the events of its predecessors, ''The Story of Tracy Beaker'', ''Tracy Beaker Returns'', ''The ...

'', in December 2021, which shows Tracy and her life after she gets over her break-up with Sean Godfrey.

Personal life

In her teens, Jacqueline Aitken began a relationship with partner Millar Wilson, whom she married in 1965 when she was 19. Two years later, they had a daughter named Emma. Her husband later left her for another woman. They divorced in 2004. In April 2020, Wilson announced she was in a same-sex relationship. She revealed that she had been living with her partner, Trish, for 18 years. Wilson's health issues have included heart failure, having an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator, previously needing renal dialysis and now being the recipient of a

kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplant ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Jacqueline 1945 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English women writers Academics of the University of Roehampton British Children's Laureate Costa Book Award winners Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English autobiographers English children's writers English women novelists Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners Kidney transplant recipients English lesbian writers People from Bath, Somerset People from Kingston upon Thames British women children's writers English women non-fiction writers Women autobiographers LGBT writers from England