Graham Gardner
Encyclopedia
Graham Gardner is a British
novelist who writes books aimed at the Young Adult market. He was born and brought up in the county of Worcestershire
, England
, and is the second eldest of ten children. Over the course of the last fifteen years, he has worked his way into (and out of) over 30 jobs, including fruit-picker, library assistant, production line operative, waiter, shop assistant, civil servant church-organist and academic researcher. He is presently library resources manager at St Marylebone School in London, which has featured in the London Evening Standard's Get London Reading Campaign, and a freelance literary consultant advising on a range of issues. To relax, he reads, walks, cycles, swims and plays classical, rock and ragtime piano.
, about bullying and self-invention, was first published in the UK by Orion Children's Books in 2003. In 2004, Inventing Elliot was published in the US by Dial, an imprint of Penguin Books
, and has since been translated into over 10 languages, including German, French, Greek, Polish, Spanish and Korean. The book has been shortlisted for many prizes, including the Angus Book Award
and the Branford Boase Award
, and won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
.
, from where gained his PhD in 2003. During this time, he worked with Dr Bill Edwards and Dr Michael Woods on a study of civic participation in market towns funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, a review of community and town councils in Wales commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government, several studies of the economy and society of rural Wales for the Wales Rural Observatory, and a review of the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme commissioned by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As an extension of this work, he subsequently advised the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) on the appropriateness and likely impact of giving parish and town councils in England a new general power to promote wellbeing.
Between 2006 and 2009, he was a research fellow funded by the UK Research Councils (RCUK) studying citizenship, governance and local politics, with a focus on forging links between academic research, national public policy and local practice. His main concern in this role was with the significance of citizen empowerment for democracy, wellbeing and social justice, and his attempts to challenge mainstream thinking on the impact and potential implications of New Labour's 'new localism' agenda frequently caused controversy. His writing on local empowerment appeared in national newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian, Local Council Review, MJ and Clearway, and he regularly addressed policy and practitioner audiences. In recognition of his contribution to debates over empowerment and localism, he has been profiled by Regeneration and Renewal magazine and made a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (FRSA).
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
novelist who writes books aimed at the Young Adult market. He was born and brought up in the county of Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and is the second eldest of ten children. Over the course of the last fifteen years, he has worked his way into (and out of) over 30 jobs, including fruit-picker, library assistant, production line operative, waiter, shop assistant, civil servant church-organist and academic researcher. He is presently library resources manager at St Marylebone School in London, which has featured in the London Evening Standard's Get London Reading Campaign, and a freelance literary consultant advising on a range of issues. To relax, he reads, walks, cycles, swims and plays classical, rock and ragtime piano.
Inventing Elliot
His début novel Inventing ElliotInventing Elliot
Inventing Elliot is a young adult novel by Graham Gardner, first published in 2003. It is about a young teenager who decides to become a different person and ends up being invited to join a secret society which is orchestrating a reign of terror at his new school...
, about bullying and self-invention, was first published in the UK by Orion Children's Books in 2003. In 2004, Inventing Elliot was published in the US by Dial, an imprint of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
, and has since been translated into over 10 languages, including German, French, Greek, Polish, Spanish and Korean. The book has been shortlisted for many prizes, including the Angus Book Award
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. The award is decided by the votes of the secondary schools in Angus. The pupils host the awards every year. The ceremony is hosted by a different school each year...
and the Branford Boase Award
Branford Boase Award
The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding novel for young people by a first-time writer.Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books and Henrietta Branford worked together previously to produce a great number of books. Both Wendy Boase and...
, and won the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
The Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's literature. It is Germany's only state-funded literary award. In the past, authors from many countries...
.
Academic Research
For more than ten years, Graham Gardner was an academic researcher, based at Aberystwyth University on the coast of West WalesWest Wales
West Wales is the western area of Wales.Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, an area which historically comprised the Welsh principality of Deheubarth., an area called "South West Wales" in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics....
, from where gained his PhD in 2003. During this time, he worked with Dr Bill Edwards and Dr Michael Woods on a study of civic participation in market towns funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, a review of community and town councils in Wales commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government, several studies of the economy and society of rural Wales for the Wales Rural Observatory, and a review of the Quality Parish and Town Council Scheme commissioned by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As an extension of this work, he subsequently advised the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) on the appropriateness and likely impact of giving parish and town councils in England a new general power to promote wellbeing.
Between 2006 and 2009, he was a research fellow funded by the UK Research Councils (RCUK) studying citizenship, governance and local politics, with a focus on forging links between academic research, national public policy and local practice. His main concern in this role was with the significance of citizen empowerment for democracy, wellbeing and social justice, and his attempts to challenge mainstream thinking on the impact and potential implications of New Labour's 'new localism' agenda frequently caused controversy. His writing on local empowerment appeared in national newspapers and magazines, including the Guardian, Local Council Review, MJ and Clearway, and he regularly addressed policy and practitioner audiences. In recognition of his contribution to debates over empowerment and localism, he has been profiled by Regeneration and Renewal magazine and made a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts (FRSA).