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.
A Remarkable Ear
There's more than one way of being talent-spotted,
says Anne.
Will doesn't even realise he's humming and singing in the library. But Mr Brand has noticed. He even stops Will and his mum on their way out to give Will a music test. And sure enough, the toddler proves to have 'a remarkable ear'.
Later, the two meet again at Will's primary school. Mr Brand reckons it would be a crying shame if Will doesn't learn to play some sort of instrument. In this school, children learn the violin. So the violin it is.
But what is a musical boy supposed to do when everyone in the family is far too distracted to take the time to encourage him? When all the progress he makes has to be off his own bat? When his secondary school is far more sporty than musical? And when Mr Brand's way of teaching is more than a little strange?
Here's another book from Barrington Stoke - easy to read, and perfect for both dyslexic and reluctant readers of any age.
More about A Remarkable Ear and other books for solo readers.
Jamie and Angus, Together Again
Anne Fine welcomes a new look for two old friends, a little boy and his Highland bull:
I'm guessing that anyone who follows this website knows that, of all the books I've written for younger children, the stories featuring Jamie and his precious soft toy, Angus the Highland bull, are among my very favourites.
So it's lovely to be able to tell you that the second book in this series, Jamie and Angus Together, has now been republished with wonderfully fresh, warm and funny illustrations by the brilliant Sam Usher.
Letters I get remark on what a pleasure it is to have stories to read to a child at bedtime that aren't studded with the less than soothing march of Pow! Bang! Crash! & Wallop!, but rather about the easily recognised small events in the life of almost any child of nursery school age.
But it's an interesting enough life. In this book Jamie learns to draw angry eggs, re-sorts his bookshelves in the strangest fashion, plays a most curious and confusing game of Let's Pretend with his Granny, cleverly protects Angus from a rambunctious friend, explains the mysteries of the countryside to Uncle Edward, then, writing a book called FUN FOR ONE, realises quite how much he loves and needs his faithful best friend, Angus.
Sam Usher is the artist and he's taken over from the splendid Penny Dale to do the most wonderful job. The new drawings are warm and cosy and funny, and match the tone and text perfectly. They couldn't look more enchanting and enticing.
Read more about Jamie and Angus Together, and about all the Jamie and Angus stories
Workplace Happiness Podcast
"Most of us ask ourselves at least sometimes, 'Am I in - or heading for - the right job?'
"Not all of us are lucky enough to get an answer."
I did. Lord Mark Price asked to interview me for his Happiness Podcast series, and before we began he sent a questionnaire. I was dead honest but I still got 91% (Excellent!). Even Mark sounded startled, and he's already asked all sorts of people.
I told him quite a lot about how I approached the job of writing books for both adults and children, the parts of the task I loved, the parts I found difficult, my work habits (inasmuch as you could call them habits), how long books took to write - stuff like that.
So, if you're interested, either because you enjoy my novels or because you're writing your own, then please do have a listen.
Not the Norwich and Norfolk Festival
"Authors are well placed to survive self-isolation," says Anne, "and I am not going to pretend that I have found these last weeks nearly as difficult as most people.
"But even a secretive churl like me enjoys meeting other authors sometimes, and I was very much looking forward to my event with Romesh Gunesekera at the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. (We had been paired because we both became Fellows of the Royal Literature Society on the same day.) Like everything else, that book event was cancelled. Instead, the two of us recorded a shared interview for Radio 3's Free Thinking series, in which we discuss the similarities and difference between our writing lives."
Listen now, and find more information on the BBC website.
Children's Laureates: Going strong at 20!
Earlier this year, Anne was at a party to celebrate twenty years of the Children's Laureate (you can read about it here): now she warmly welcomes the newest Children's Laureate, Cressida Cowell. Anne says, "I was delighted to hear that Cressida has become the eleventh Laureate. She'll be splendid in the job, keeping a really high profile about things that matter to children and reading and libraries.
"And my grandchildren, all of whom adore her books, are as pleased as I am. Congratulations to Cressida!"
During her time as Laureate, Anne continued her work as a patron for Calibre - a subscription-free audiobook service for adults and children with sight problems, dyslexia or who cannot read print; and with the help of Lois Beeson, the secretary for the Children's Laureate, she contacted a number of high profile authors - J. K. Rowling, Jacqueline Wilson, Philip Pullman and Terry Pratchett - and together with them raised enough funds to launch ClearVision. This new service funds books which interleave Braille pages and printed children's books, so that families can read them together.
Anne also helped to judge a competition of fully textured, tactile books, the Typhlo & Tactus International Tactile-Illustrated Book Prize. The award was set up to increase the quantity, quality and availability of books with tactile illustrations for children with little or no sight - and it was international, involving Belgium, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom. Now that prize is also celebrating its 20th birthday, and it is still going strong - the 2019 competition has just closed to entries.
You can read more about Anne's involvement with books for people with little or no sight on the BookTrust website; or read more about the second Children's Laureate on this site; and read Anne's Letter from a Laureate on the Booktrust site.
Honorary Degrees
If you've ever looked at Anne's Awards and Honours page, you'll know that as well as those two Carnegie medals, and lots of other prizes for one book or another in particular, she has been awarded several honorary degrees. In fact, she started 2017 with a degree ceremony at the University of Leicester, where she was presented with a fourth Honorary Doctorate. What's it all about? Anne explains:
Now I have several, I feel a good deal differently. I've realised that, as almost everyone goes through their professional life, the people around them can't help but form a view of their body of work. And if that's a positive opinion, and a prestigious institution chooses to make it both plain and public, that's inspiriting and encouraging. (After all, everyone who works hard asks themselves from time to time, "Has all this effort been worthwhile?" So it's immensely cheering to be told so openly, "Yes. Yes, it was.")
What pleases me most is that I have links with almost all the places that have honoured me. I was born in Leicester, and last week that city's university awarded me an honorary doctorate. I studied at Warwick, where I was given another some years ago. Ever since I moved to the north east, and found out how much I loved it here, I've spoken up for the area. So it was lovely to be honoured by the University of Teesside. My secondary schooling was all in Northampton, so I am especially proud of my honorary fellowship from that university. And growing up there turns me into a woman from the Midlands, so I'm proud of my doctorate from the University of Central England in Birmingham.
(Just for the record, you're given a beautifully designed degree certificate in a classy holder. And they take photos of you in the fancy official university robes and cap - I'm much less keen on those!)
