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Marcus Sedgwick

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Marcus Sedgwick (8 April 1968 – 15 November 2022) was a British writer and illustrator. He authored several young adult and children's books and picture books, a work of nonfiction and several novels for adults, and illustrated a collection of myths and a book of folk tales for adults.[1] According to School Library Journal his "most acclaimed titles" were those for young adults.[1]

Marcus Sedwick
Born(1968-04-08)8 April 1968
Preston, Kent, England
Died15 November 2022(2022-11-15) (aged 54)
France
EducationUniversity of Bath
GenreFantasy, science fiction, horror, young adult
Notable awardsMichael L. Printz Award
2014 Midwinterblood

Booktrust Teenage Prize
2007 My Swordhand Is Singing

Branford Boase Award
2001 Floodland

His novel Floodland (2001) won the Branford Boase Award and The Dark Horse (2002) was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The first U.S. edition of his 2011 novel Midwinterblood won the 2014 Michael L. Printz Award from the American Library Association.[2]

Early life

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Marcus Sedgwick was born 8 April 1968 in Preston, a small village in East Kent, England.[3] He has one brother, Julian, and a half-sister, Ellie.[3] As a child he was shy and recalled being bullied at Sir Roger Manwood's School in Sandwich, Kent an all-boys grammar school.[3]

His mother had once worked in Machynlleth at the Centre for Alternative Technology; the area was the setting for Susan Cooper's fantasy series The Dark Rising, and Sedgwick called those books influential for him.[3] He was also influenced by Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast series, which his father had introduced him to.[3]

He studied mathematics and politics at the University of Bath.[3] His father died when Sedgwick was twenty years old.[4][3]

Career

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Before becoming a full-time author, Sedgwick worked as a bookseller at Heffers, a children's bookstore, and in sales at children's publishers Ragged Bears and Walker Books.[3] According to The Guardian he began writing "seriously" in 1994.[3]

His first book, Floodland, was published in 2000, and it received the Branford Boase Award for the best debut children's novel of that year.[3] Floodland tells the story of Zoe, who lives on her own on an island that used to be part of England before global warming caused the seas to rise. Publishers Weekly said that "Despite some page-turning chapters, Zoe and her story lack the credibility to sustain readers through the contradictory themes and sometimes unimaginative prose."[5] Alternative Magazine said it was "a stunning debut novel that precluded more literary brilliance to follow."[6]

Dark Horse (2001) was shortlisted for several awards.[3] My Swordhand Is Singing (2006) won a Booktrust Teenage Prize.[3]

In 2013 he released Dark Satanic Mills, a graphic novel written in conjunction with his brother Julian Sedgwick and illustrated by John Higgins.[3] His 2015 book The Ghosts of Heaven, a work of young adult fiction consisting of four loosely connected parts combined into an "intriguing" novel, according to Sarah McCarry writing for The New York Times.[7]

He won numerous awards for his writing, most notably the Michael L. Printz Award in 2011 for Revolver, 2014 for Midwinter Blood, and 2016 for The Ghosts of Heaven.[3] At the time of his death he was the most-nominated author for America's most prestigious book prize for writing for young adults. In addition to writing, Sedgwick worked on film and book projects with his brother Julian.[3] He was represented by RCW Literary Agency.[3]

Sedgwick taught creative writing at Bath Spa University as a writer in residence from 2011 through 2014 and wrote reviews for the Guardian newspaper.[3]

Reception

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Kirkus Reviews, in reviewing his 2016 Saint Death, called out Sedgwick's "characteristic precision of English prose".[8] According to The Guardian, after the 2006 appearance of My Swordhand Is Singing, his works were "regularly on the shortlist for every major award for his subsequent titles", and although seldom receiving major awards were "always critically acclaimed, much admired by other writers and popular with readers".[3]

Awards

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Personal life

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Sedgwick was married and divorced three times.[3] He had a daughter, Alice, with his first wife Kate Agnew.[3]

In addition to drawing and writing, Sedgwick played the drums and was an avid music lover.[4] Some of his favorite writers include Susan Cooper, Thomas Mann and Arthur Schnitzler.[11]

In 2014, Sedgwick was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis.[1][3] After his diagnosis, he moved to the French Alps and then to Dordogne.[3] His final work before his death was the nonfiction book All In Your Head: What Happens When Your Doctor Doesn’t Believe You?[1] Sedgwick died in France on 15 November 2022, at the age of 54.[12][13][14]

Publications

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Young adult novels

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  • Floodland (Delacorte Press, 2000) ISBN 9780385328012
  • The Dark Horse (Wendy Lamb Books, 2001) ISBN 9780385730549
  • The Foreshadowing (Orion Children's Books, 2005) ISBN 9781842552179
  • Blood Red, Snow White (Orion Children's Books, 2007) ISBN 9781842551844
  • Revolver (Orion, 2009) ISBN 9781842551868
  • White Crow (Orion, 2010) ISBN 9781842551875[6]
  • Midwinterblood (Indigo, 2011) ISBN 9781780620091
  • She Is Not Invisible (Orion Children's Books, 2013) ISBN 9781444000504
  • The Ghosts of Heaven (Roaring Brook Press, 2015) ISBN 9781626721258
  • Killing the Dead (Indigo, 2015) ISBN 9781780622392
  • Saint Death (Orion Children's Books, 2016) ISBN 9781444000528[8]
  • Snowflake, AZ (Norton Young Readers, 2019) ISBN 9781324004417
  • Dark Peak (Oxford University Press, 2021) ISBN 9780198494973
  • Wrath (Barrington Stoke, 2022) ISBN 9781800900899

Dead Days

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Swordhand

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Children's books

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Raven Mysteries

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Cudweed

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Elf Girl and Raven Boy

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Picture books

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Graphic novels

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Adult novels

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Nonfiction

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Short stories and novellas

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As illustrator

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  • Outremer: Jaufré Rudel and the Countess of Tripoli – A Legend of the Crusades. Nick Riddle, editor. (Fisher King, 1993) ISBN 9780952432708
  • Counsel, June. Once upon Our Time (Glyndley Books, 2000) ISBN 978-0953423224

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Yorio, Kara (17 November 2022). "Children's Literature World Mourns Author Marcus Sedgwick, Who has Died at 54". School Library Journal. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  2. ^ Strickland, Ashley (27 January 2014). "And the Newbery, Caldecott award winners are..." CNN. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Eccleshare, Julia (1 December 2022). "Marcus Sedgwick obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  4. ^ a b Bartel, Julie (12 June 2014). "One Thing Leads to Another: An Interview with Marcus Sedgwick". The Hub. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b Mulrooney, Martin (20 December 2010). "Book Review – Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick". Alternative Magazine Online. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  7. ^ McCarry, Sarah (16 January 2015). "'The Darkest Part of the Forest' and 'The Ghosts of Heaven'". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  8. ^ a b Saint Death | Kirkus Reviews. 15 February 2017.
  9. ^ "Marcus Sedgwick (1968-2022)". Locus Online. 28 November 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Hordon, Ferelith (2022). Marcus Sedgwick Hans Christian Andersen Awards 2022: UK Author Nomination (PDF). IBBY UK. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  11. ^ Treagus-Evans, Phil (January 2017). "Marcus Sedgwick: Living in the Story". The Reading Lists. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  12. ^ Brown, Lauren (17 November 2022). "Award-winning author Marcus Sedgwick dies 'unexpectedly' aged 54". The Bookseller. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  13. ^ Schaub, Michael (17 November 2022). "Author Marcus Sedgwick Dies at 54". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Marcus Sedgwick, author acclaimed for his dark fiction for young adults – obituary". The Telegraph. 21 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022. (subscription required)
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Sedgwick, Marcus". SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
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