Multi-award winning author, Michael Morpurgo, is one of Britain’s best-loved writers for children and has won many prizes, including the Smarties Prize, The Writers Guild Award and the Blue Peter Book Award for his novel, Private Peaceful, which has also had two successful runs as a play devised by Bristol Old Vic.
From 2003 to 2005 he was the Children’s Laureate (a position awarded in the United Kingdom once every two years to a “writer or illustrator of children’s books to celebrate outstanding achievement in their field”), a role which took him all over the UK to promote literacy and reading, and in 2005 he was named the Booksellers Association Author of the Year. (Amazon Review)
This year his talent and contributions were rewarded – he has been awarded a knighthood for his services to literature and charity, and is now known as SIR Michael Morpurgo!
Five of Michael’s books have been made into films already: Friend or Foe (1981), Why the Whales Came (1989), My Friend Walter (1992), War Horse (2011), and the elegiac Private Peaceful (2012). Kensuke’s Kingdom is also being made into an animated film by Lupus Films.
Michael’s work is noted for its “magical storytelling”, for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, for characters’ relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast or World War I (Wikipedia).
Maggie Fergusson wrote a biography of Michael’s life, called Michael Morpurgo, War Child to War Horse (ISBN: 9780007531769) in which fans can explore his real life story, written so children can read it. A must have for Morpurgo fans!
Michael Morpurgo – On How He Became a Writer and Storyteller
Michael Morpurgo – 5 Most Asked Questions
Michael Morpurgo – How to Get into Writing
Children’s Laureates – Michael Morpurgo
Read more about Michael Morpurgo on his website
