Kate Thompson (born 10 November 1956) is a British-Irish writer best known for

children's novels 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 ...

. Most of her children's fiction is

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), 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 ...

but several of her books also deal with the consequences of

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

Biography

Katharine Anna Thompson was born in

Halifax, Yorkshire Halifax () is a minster and market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale in West Yorkshire, England. It is the commercial, cultural and administrative centre of the borough, and the headquarters of Calderdale Council. In the 15th cen ...

, the youngest child of the social historians and peace activists E. P. Thompson and Dorothy Towers. She has lived in Ireland since 1981 and many of her books are set there. She worked with horses and travelled in India, then settled in 1984 in

Inagh Inagh ( ; ) is a village and civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It is situated 14 km west of Ennis on the Inagh River. It contains the villages of Inagh and Cloonanaha. Location The parish is part of the barony of Inchiquin. The ''Par ...

in the west of Ireland with her partner Conor Minogue. They have two daughters, Cliodhna and Dearbhla. She is an accomplished

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

r with an interest in

Irish traditional music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there w ...

, which is reflected in ''The New Policeman''. She won two major annual awards for '' The New Policeman'' (Bodley Head, 2005), set in modern

Kinvara Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the Barony (Ireland), barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also ...

and the Irish mythological

Tír na nÓg In Irish mythology Tír na nÓg (; "Land of the Young") or Tír na hÓige ("Land of Youth") is one of the names for the Celtic Otherworld, or perhaps for a part of it. Tír na nÓg is best known from the tale of Oisín and Niamh. Other Old Ir ...

: the

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 ...

and the Whitbread Children's Book Award. It also won the Dublin Airport Authority Children's Book of the Year Award for 2005. She has won the Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award four times, for ''The Beguilers'', ''The Alchemist's Apprentice'', ''Annan Water'' and ''The New Policeman''. ''Creature of the Night'' was shortlisted for the 2008

Booktrust Teenage Prize The Booktrust Teenage Prize was an annual award given to young adult literature published in the UK. The prize was administered by Book Trust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading. The Booktrust Teenage Prize was last awarded in ...

and the 2009 Carnegie Medal.

Works

;For adults * ''There is Something'' (1992), poetry * ''Down Among the Gods'' (1997) * ''Thin Air'' (1999) * ''An Act of Worship'' (2000) ;Illustrated books * ''Highway Robbery'' (2008) ;Children's novels * Switchers Trilogy :''

Switchers The Switchers Trilogy is a fantasy book series for young adults, written by Kate Thompson. The series is mainly set in Ireland. The leading characters are teenagers with the power to shapeshift (or "Switch") into the forms of animals and variou ...

'' (1997) :'' Midnight's Choice'' (1998) :'' Wild Blood'' (1999) * Missing Link or Fourth World trilogy :''The Missing Link'' (2000) :''Only Human'' (2001) :''Origins'' (2002) *''The Beguilers'' (2001) *''The Alchemist's Apprentice'' (2002) *''Annan Water'' (2004) * New Policeman or Liddy trilogy :'' The New Policeman'' (2005) :''The Last of the High Kings'' (2007) :''The White Horse Trick'' (2010) * ''The Fourth Horseman'' (2006) * '' Creature of the Night'' (2008) * ''Wanted!'' (2010)

References

External links

*
The music of time: Julia Eccleshare talks to Kate Thompson, winner of the 2005 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
(''The Guardian'', 30 September 2005)
Author of the month: Kate Thompson
(Dina Rabinovitch, ''The Guardian'', 24 January 2006) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Kate 1956 births Living people People from Halifax, West Yorkshire People from County Galway British women novelists 20th-century British novelists 21st-century British novelists British children's writers British fantasy writers Irish women novelists 20th-century Irish novelists 21st-century Irish novelists Irish children's writers Irish women children's writers Irish fantasy writers British women children's writers Women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century British women writers 21st-century British women writers Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners