Tim Wynne-Jones
Encyclopedia
Tim Wynne-Jones is an English
–Canadian
author of children's literature
, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.
, England
, Wynne-Jones was raised in British Columbia
and Ontario
. He was educated at the University of Waterloo
and York University
, after having graduated from Ridgemont High School
in Ottawa, Canada. An additional formative experience was his participation in the St Matthew's Anglican Church choir of men and boys, of which he was for a time the Head Chorister. He currently lives in eastern Ontario. He is a faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts
, teaching in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program.
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...
–Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
author of children's literature
Children's literature
Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...
, including picture books and novels for children and young adults, novels for adults, radio dramas, songs for the CBC/Jim Henson production Fraggle Rock, as well as a children's musical and an opera libretto.
Biography
Born in CheshireCheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, 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...
, Wynne-Jones was raised in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. He was educated at the University of Waterloo
University of Waterloo
The University of Waterloo is a comprehensive public university in the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The school was founded in 1957 by Drs. Gerry Hagey and Ira G. Needles, and has since grown to an institution of more than 30,000 students, faculty, and staff...
and York University
York University
York University is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, Ontario's second-largest graduate school, and Canada's leading interdisciplinary university....
, after having graduated from Ridgemont High School
Ridgemont High School (Ottawa)
Ridgemont High School. It is an Ottawa-Carleton District School Board secondary school in Ottawa, Canada. The school is located at 2597 Alta Vista Drive in the Alta Vista neighbourhood of Ottawa. It is next door to St...
in Ottawa, Canada. An additional formative experience was his participation in the St Matthew's Anglican Church choir of men and boys, of which he was for a time the Head Chorister. He currently lives in eastern Ontario. He is a faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts offers four distinct graduate programs, awarding Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Art, Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults and Graphic Design. The student to faculty ratio at VCFA is 4-to-1.. The faculty and alumni of VCFA have won many literary awards,...
, teaching in the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA program.
Writing
Tim Wynne-Jones' first book was Odd's End which is said to have been written over the space of five weeks while his wife was away. It was published By McClelland & Stewart in 1980 and won the $50,000 Seal First Novel Award. Since then, Wynne-Jones has written more than 20 books, including picture books, novels for children and young adults, as well as three novels for adults. His work has been widely reviewed and he has won several awards, including three Governor General’s Literary Awards in Canada (1993, 1995, 2009); three Canadian Library Association Prizes; the Arthur Ellis Award (2001); the Edgar Award for Young Adult Mystery from the Mystery Writers of America (2002) and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.Children's picture books
- Madeline and Ermadillo - 1976
- Zoom at Sea - 1983
- Zoom Away - 1985
- The Hour Of the Frog - 1985
- I'll Make You Small - 1986
- Mischief City - 1986
- Architect Of the Moon - 1988 (U.S. title: Builder of the Moon)
- Zoom Upstream - 1992
- The Last Piece of Sky - 1993
- Mouse In the Manger - 1993
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame - 1996
- Dracula - 1997
- On Tumbledown Hill - 1998
- Ned Mouse Breaks Away - 2002
Young adult fiction
- Rosie Backstage - 1994 (with Amanda Lewis)
- The Book of Changes - 1994
- The Maestro - 1995 (Australian title: The Flight of Burl Crow, UK title The Survival Game)
- Some of the Kinder Planets - 1997
- Stephen Fair - 1998
- Lord of the Fries and Other Stories - 1999
- The Boy in the Burning House - 2000 (Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel, 2002)
- A Midwinter Night's Dream - 2003 (Libretto, commissioned by the Canadian Children's Opera ChorusCanadian Children's Opera ChorusThe Canadian Children's Opera Company was founded in 1968 by Ruby Mercer and Lloyd Bradshaw. The Chorus consists of five divisions of approximately 240 boys and girls aged 6 to 19. The Principal Chorus has over 80 choristers, and they participate as the children's chorus in productions by the...
) - A Thief in the House of Memory - 2004
- Rex Zero and the End of the World - 2006
- The Uninvited - 2009
- Blink and Caution - 2011
Adult fiction
- Odd's End - 1980
- The Knot - 1983
- Fastyngange - 1988 (UK title: Voices)
- The Uninvited - 2009
- SilabGarza - 2010
Radio plays
- "The Thinking Room" for CBC RadioCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
's NightfallNightfall (CBC)Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from...
- 1982 - "The Road Ends at the Sea" for CBC RadioCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
's NightfallNightfall (CBC)Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from...
- 1982 - "The Strange Odyssey of Lennis Freed" for CBC RadioCBC RadioCBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
's NightfallNightfall (CBC)Nightfall is the title of a radio drama series produced and aired by CBC Radio from July 1980 to June 1983. While primarily a supernatural/horror series, Nightfall featured some episodes in other genres, such as science fiction, mystery, fantasy, and human drama. One episode was even adapted from...
- 1983
Awards
- 1980 - Seal First Novel Award for Odd's End
- 1983 - Ruth Schwartz Award of The Canadian Book Sellers Association for Zoom at Sea
- 1993 - Governor General's Award for English language children's literatureGovernor General's Award for English language children's literatureThis is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for children's literature. An award for juvenile literature existed from 1949 to 1958, and the current award was created in 1987.-Juvenile fiction:*1949: R.S. Lambert, Franklin of the Arctic...
for Some of the Kinder Planets - 1995 - Governor General's Award for English language children's literatureGovernor General's Award for English language children's literatureThis is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for children's literature. An award for juvenile literature existed from 1949 to 1958, and the current award was created in 1987.-Juvenile fiction:*1949: R.S. Lambert, Franklin of the Arctic...
for The Maestro - 1995 - Canadian Library Association Young Adult Book of the Year for The Maestro
- 1997 - Vicky Metcalf AwardVicky Metcalf AwardThe Vicky Metcalf Award is awarded to a writer whose body of work has been "inspirational to Canadian youth." It is one of the top awards for Canadian children's writers. The award was named after Vicky Metcalf...
- 1998 - Canadian Library Association, Children's Book of the Year
- 2001 - Arthur Ellis AwardArthur Ellis AwardsThe Arthur Ellis Awards are a group of Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the Crime Writers of Canada for the best Canadian crime and mystery writing....
for Best Juvenile Crime Book for The Boy in the Burning House - 2002 - Edgar AwardEdgar AwardThe Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Young Adult book for The Boy in the Burning House - 2009 - Governor General's Award for English language children's literatureGovernor General's Award for English language children's literatureThis is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for children's literature. An award for juvenile literature existed from 1949 to 1958, and the current award was created in 1987.-Juvenile fiction:*1949: R.S. Lambert, Franklin of the Arctic...
for The Uninvited
External links
- Tim Wynne-Jones official website
- Tim Wynne-Jones A 1988 article from CM: A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People
- Tim Wynne-Jones interview at BookReviewsAndMore.ca