ANNE FINE'S BIOGRAPHY
My childhood
When I was young, it never occurred to me that I might be a writer. I think I must have thought that books were born on the library shelves. But I was good at writing stories, and I had a good deal of practice.
My primary school teacher came in every Monday morning in a rather grumpy mood. He'd look at the work calendar on the wall, which told us that we should be doing maths, and put his head in his hands. Then, "Why don't you write me an essay?" he'd suggest. He'd write a few titles on the board - things like, A Day in the Life of a Lost Coin, Description of my Granny, or Adventure at the Seaside - anything like that. Then: "I want absolute silence till break-time" he'd say, nursing his hungover head. "The first person to whisper gets the strap."
I don't remember him ever giving anyone the strap (though we did keep very, very quiet, just in case). I loved those double lessons more than anything in the world (except for reading). No endless discussions. No sharing of ideas. No realising that someone else had also had your brilliant idea. I covered pages and pages, writing fast, hiding my work fro
Anne Fine
About Author
Originally from Leicester, Anne Fine read Politics and History at Warwick University before training to be a teacher. She has also worked as an Information Officer for the charity Oxfam, and has two grown-up daughters.
Anne Fine's work is characterised by humour and her extraordinary insights into the lives and minds of children. She went to school aged three, and can't remember a time when she couldn't read. As a young person, Anne moved on from Enid Blyton to Anthony Buckeridge, Richmal Crompton (the William books) and Henry Treece. Then it was P G Woodhouse and Rider Haggard. Now Anne reads George Eliot, Flaubert, Austen, Thackeray and Tolstoy, as well as biography, autobiography, psychology, crime, poetry - and the newspapers.
Anne has received many children's book prizes, including the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year (The Tulip Touch), Carnegie Medal (Goggle Eyes, Flour Babies)and the Guardian Children's Award (Madam Doubtfire). She was the Children's Laureate from
Interview
BLOOD FAMILY
DOUBLEDAY
JULY
Anne Fine's latest book, Blood Family, shares the theme of child welfare with her earlier novel, The Devil Walks. The two books wer
ANNE FINE
This is the official web site of Anne Fine, the second Children's Laureate and a distinguished prize-winning writer for children of all ages, with over fifty books to her credit. She has also written for adults to considerable critical acclaim. This site has news and information about Anne, and showcases her books.
On The Wall
Can you find happiness anywhere? Anywhere at all?
Amid the frantic bustle of breaktime, Finley Tandy sits peacefully on the wall.
Mr Goodhew, watching from the staffroom, can't help but wonder at the boy's gift for stillness, and his seemingly cast-iron happiness.
But maybe tranquility can be catching. Because gradually everyone in the school comes to appreciate what Finley's long silences can offer. Even Juliet finds answers to her crushing worries when she's close to Finley, up on the wall.
On The Wall has been chosen by EmpathyLab for inclusion in its #ReadforEmpathy booklist. Anne explains:
Why has the sheer importance of empathy come to the fore in recent years? Why do we care so much about a concept that had seemed to be left to itself for so long?
Perhaps because there has been so much change and upheaval for our young people
Anne Fine
Anne Fine is a distinguished writer for children of all ages, with over forty books to her credit. As well as being chosen as Children's Laureate in , she is twice winner of the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most coveted children's literature award, and has also won the Guardian Children's Literature Award, the Whitbread Children's Novel Award twice, and a Smarties Prize. She won the Publishing News Children's Author of the Year Award in and again in
Her books for older children include the award winning The Tulip Touch and Goggle-Eyes, which was adapted for television by the BBC. Twentieth Century Fox filmed her novel Madame Doubtfire as Mrs Doubtfire, starring Robin Williams. Her books for younger children include Bill's New Frock and How to Write Really Badly. Her work has been translated into twenty-five languages.
Anne Fine has also written for adults. Her novels The Killjoy, Taking the Devil's Advice, In Cold Domain, Telling Liddy and, most recently, All Bones and Lies, have been published to considerable critical acclaim.
Anne Fine has two grown up daughters, and lives in County Durham.
Awards: Carnegie() see all
Genres: Children's Fi
Biographies you may also like
Kobayashi ayako biography channel Ayako Kobayashi was born on 11 August in Tokyo, Japan. She is an actress, known for Oshin (), Oshin () and Yokkakan no kiseki ().
Barbara harrison channel 4 biography As News4’s favorite storyteller moves on to her next chapter, we take a look back at Barbara Harrison’s remarkable career at News4. It’s not goodbye — she’ll continue to bring us great .
Tebogo madingoane biography channel Those were the words of the Afro-pop singer and songwriter Theo Kgosinkwe on the late group member, Tebogo "Tebza" Madingoane. It's been nearly two decades since the .
Kunio yanagita biography channel Kunio Yanagita was a Japanese author, scholar, and folklorist. He began his career as a bureaucrat, but developed an interest in rural Japan and its folk traditions. This led to a change .
Annibale fantoli biography of abraham lincoln Abraham Lincoln is the most written-about person in American history, and the third-most in world history—ranking below only Jesus and Napoleon. The deluge of books about the Great Missing: annibale fantoli.
Giovanni francesco barbieri biography books Giovanni Francesco Barbieri was born in in the small town of Cento near the artistic centers of Ferrara and Bologna. Due to a visual ailment he was known throughout his life as Guercino .