Andy Mulligan (author)

Andy Mulligan is an English writer best known for young adult fiction. His work is strongly influenced by his experiences working as a volunteer in Calcutta, India, and as an English and drama teacher in Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines, and the UK.[1]

Career

He married Anne Robinson when he was 36 years old and she encouraged him to become an author. Peer pressure Mulligan's first novel, Ribblestrop, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2009. The story originated "on a walk with a fellow teacher"; they talked about they might turn a particular "ramshackle stately home ... into a thoroughly inappropriate school".[2]

His second novel, Trash, is set in the garbage dump of a large unnamed third world city reminiscent of Manila, and features a street child who lives as a waste picker. It was shortlisted for one of the annual Blue Peter Book Awards, but dropped "because it contains scenes of violence and swearing that are not suitable for the younger end of" the Blue Peter audience.[2] David Fickling, the publisher of Trash, stated that "poor children live a very unpleasant life and to avoid that would be untruthful, and I don't think one should be untruthful to children. You can't make life wonderfully safe and middle-class all over the world."[3] Trash was later shortlisted for the 2012 CILIP Carnegie Medal.[4][lower-alpha 1] A film adaptation of Trash by Working Title Films and PeaPie Films is in development.[5]

Return to Ribblestrop (2011) was the first of two Ribblestrop sequels. Mulligan won the 2011 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.[2][6] "It is so fresh: the judges loved its anarchy, its good humour, its warm heart and the way it depicted children," according to committee chair Julia Eccleshare, children's book editor at The Guardian.[2]

Works
  • Ribblestrop (Simon & Schuster Children's Books, 2009)
  • Trash (David Fickling Books, 2010)
  • Return to Ribblestrop (Simon & Schuster, 2011)
  • Ribblestrop Forever! (Simon & Schuster, 2012)
  • The Boy With Two Heads (RHCP Digital, 2013)
  • Liquidator (David Fickling Books, 2015)
  • Rollercoaster:(Adventure Book Box, 2016)
  • Dog (Pushkin Children's Books, 2017)

Awards

Ribblestrop was shortlisted for a Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2009.[7] Trash was shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2012.

Notes
  1. As a late 2010 publication, Trash was eligible for the 2010 Blue Peter Awards and the 2012 Carnegie Medal. The Carnegie judges, who are children's librarians, recommended it for ages 12+. The suggested age ranges provided by the Medal judges over more than a decade have ranged from 8+ to 14+.

References
  1. "Mulligan, Andy". Something About the Author. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  2. "Guardian children's fiction prize won by anarchic school story". Alison Flood. guardian.co.uk 10 November 2011. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  3. "Blue Peter awards drop 'unsuitable' finalist". Benedicte Page. guardian.co.uk 7 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  4. "Carnegie shortlist includes Andy Mulligan's controversial Trash". Alison Flood. guardian.co.uk 27 March 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  5. "Trash the movie". Andy Mulligan: Latest News. Andy Mulligan. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  6. "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners". theguardian 12 March 2001. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  7. "Roald Dahl Funny Prize". www.booktrust.org.uk. Book Trust.
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