Mal Peet
Mal Peet | |
---|---|
Born | 5 October 1947 picture books |
Notable works | |
Notable awards | Guardian Prize 2009 |
Malcolm Charles Peet (5 October 1947 – 2 March 2015)
Biography
Peet grew up on a
Cloud Tea Monkeys, a children's picture book written by Peet and his wife, is set in the Himalayas and based on a Chinese folktale. Kirkus Reviews observed, in review of the 2010 edition illustrated by Juan Wijngaard, "The deftly spun, ,emotionally resonant fairy-tale story ... begs to be read aloud. ... Unlike cloud tea, an accessible treasure."[8]
Novelist
Walker Books published Peet's first five novels, with his latest work,
Life: An Exploded Diagram (2011), a semi-autobiographical novel, was his last book for young readers.[9][15]
Susan Tranter wrote that "Mal Peet's work is notable for its refusal to submit to categories – the constraints which label what a book should be about, and who it should appeal to. His books to date prove that successful literature for young readers doesn't have to be didactic, or have overtly youthful themes, or even centre on young characters. It is the quality of the writing which is, ultimately, the most important thing." Peet says he is skeptical of books written specifically for teenagers, saying they are prone to condescension.[6]
Peet himself stated, "I see genres as generating sets of rules or conventions that are only interesting when they are subverted or used to disguise the author’s intent. My own way of doing this is to attempt a sort of whimsical alchemy, whereby seemingly incompatible genres are brought into unlikely partnerships."[9]
Three of Peet's books feature the fictional South American
Peet described his creative occupation thus: "I come up here in the morning to a pleasant room in the roof of my house and imagine I'm a black South American football superstar, then I have to imagine I'm a female pop celebrity who's pregnant. It's a completely mad way to spend your time. If I did it in public I would be sectioned. Writing is a form of licensed madness."[7] The Murdstone Trilogy (2014) and Mr Godley's Phantom represented a departure for Peet, being aimed at adult readers.
Death
Peet died on 2 March 2015 from cancer, aged 67.[16] A final novel of Peet's, titled Beck, was finished and published posthumously by his longtime friend Meg Rosoff.[17]
Selected works
- Cloud Tea Monkeys (Ragged Bears, 1999), written by Elspeth Graham and Mal Peet, illustrated by ISBN 9781406333862(pbk)
- ISBN 9781406303933(pbk)
- ISBN 1406303941
- ISBN 9781844280995(pbk)
- ISBN 9781406306491(pbk) based on the Shakespeare play Othello
- Cloud Tea Monkeys (Walker, 2010; New edition), by Graham and Peet, illus. Juan Wijngaard
- Life: An Exploded Diagram (Walker, 2011)ISBN 9781844281008(pbk)
- ISBN 9781910200155(hbk)
- Beck (Walker Books, 2016, ISBN 978-1-4063-3112-7), completed by Meg Rosoff
- The Family Tree (ISBN 978-1-78112-805-3.
Awards
- 2004 Branford Boase Award – Keeper
- 2005 Carnegie Medal – Tamar[11][12]
- 2006 Wirral Paper Back of the Year – Tamar
- 2009 Guardian Prize – Exposure[13]
See also
References
- ^ "Mal Peet, author". The Daily Telegraph. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
- ^ England and Wales, Death Index, 2007-2015
- ^ Mal Peet. Walker Books. Retrieved 5 July 2011. Archived 5 July 2011.
- ^ Goodnow, Cecilia. "A powerful late start for young-adult book author Mal Peet". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 2 March 2007. Retrieved 5 July 2011. Archived 5 July 2011.
- ^ Martin Chilton, Mal Peet, writer, dies aged 67, The Telegraph, 3 Mar 2015.
- ^ a b Mal Peet at British Council: Literature. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ a b c "Mal Peet wins Guardian children's fiction prize: A version of Othello which casts the Moor of Venice as a South American football star wins Mal Peet the 2009 Guardian children's fiction prize". Alison Flood. The Guardian, 8 October 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ a b "CLOUD TEA MONKEYS by Mal Peet ...". Kirkus Reviews, 15 February 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- ^ a b c Julia Eccleshare, Mal Peet obituary, The Guardian, 5 March 2015.
- ^ (Home). The Branford Boase Award and Henrietta Branford Writing Competition (branfordboaseaward.org.uk) (BBA and HBWC). Retrieved 2014-07-01.
- ^ a b
(Carnegie Winner 2005) Archived 17 October 2012 at the CILIP. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ a b "Press releases for the 2005 Awards, presented in 2006" Archived 6 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Press Desk. CILIP. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
- ^ a b Guardian children's fiction prize 2009 (top page). The Guardian. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^ "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners". The Guardian 12 March 2001. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
- ^
For reviews, see:
- Rosoff, Meg. "Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet – review". The Guardian. 11 June 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- Tucker, Nicolas. "Life: An Exploded Diagram, By Mal Peet". The Independent. 19 June 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- ^ Chilton, Martin (3 March 2015). "Mal Peet, writer, dies aged 67". The Telegraph.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
External links
- Interview with Mal Peet. achuka.co.uk. July 2004. Retrieved 5 July 2011.
- Mal Peet at British Council: Literature
- Mal Peet at Walker Books
- Mal Peet profile, Kirkusreviews.com. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- Profile, PaulFaustino.com. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
- Peet profile, Redhammer.info. Retrieved 3 March 2015.