Profile of Alan Garner on Famous Like Me

Alan Garner (born Congleton October 17, 1934) is a British writer whose themes and language are strongly influenced by his birth and upbringing in Alderley Edge Cheshire. His very early writing was mainly for children and could be described as fantasy, though he himself rejects the label of "children's writer":

I do not write for children, but for myself. Adolescents read my books. By adolescence, I mean an arbitrary age somewhere between 10 and 18. This group of people is the most important of all.

His more recent work is not aimed at children (Strandloper, Thursbitch), while the earlier The Stone Book Quartet (which received the Phoenix Award in 1996) is poetic in style and inspiration. His most recent novel is Thursbitch. Other works have won the Guardian Award, the Carnegie Medal,and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, as well as the Chicago International Film Festival 1st Prize for his educational film "Images."

His collection of essays and public talks, The Voice That Thunders, contains much autobiographical material. His writing is the subject of Neil Philip's A Fine Anger, (Collins, 1981), which offers a socio-linguistic analysis of his work.

Philip Pullman is a strong admirer, and The Weirdstone of Brisingamen is an acknowledged classic of children's literature.

He was awarded the OBE for services to literature in the 2001 New Year's Honours list.

Works

His best known works are:

• The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
• The Moon of Gomrath
• Elidor
• The Owl Service
• Red Shift
• The Stone Book Quartet
• The Voice That Thunders
• Strandloper
• Thursbitch

He has also edited a collection of stories about fools, The Guizer (1975).

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