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Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo ('' né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and
librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
who is known best for children's novels such as ''
War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...
'' (1982). His 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 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Morpurgo became the third
Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the 'Waterstones Children's Laureate' is a prestigious 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 fie ...
, from 2003 to 2005, and he is also the current President of BookTrust, the UK's largest children's reading charity.


Early life

Morpurgo was born in 1943 in St Albans, Hertfordshire, as Michael Andrew Bridge, the second child of actor
Tony Van Bridge Valentine Anthony Neil "Tony Van" Bridge CM (28 May 1917 – 20 December 2004) was a British television and theatre actor and director. Early life Bridge was born in London and first appeared as a child actor at the age of ten, and enrolle ...
and actress Kippe Cammaerts (born Catherine Noel Kippe Cammaerts, daughter of writer and poet
Émile Cammaerts Émile Leon Cammaerts CBE (16 March 1878 in Saint-Gilles, Belgium – 2 November 1953, Radlett, Hertfordshire) was a Belgian playwright, poet (including war poet) and author who wrote primarily in English and French. Cammaerts translated three b ...
). Both RADA graduates, his parents had met when they were acting in the same repertory company in 1938. His father came from a working-class family, while Kippe came from a family of actors, an opera singer, writers and poets. They were married in 1941 while Van Bridge, having been called up in 1939 and by then stationed in Scotland, was on leave from the army. Morpurgo's brother Pieter was born in 1942. When Morpurgo was born the following year, his father was stationed in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
. While Van Bridge was away at war, Kippe Cammaerts met Jack Morpurgo (subsequently
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
of American Literature at the
University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...
from 1969 to 1982). When Van Bridge returned to England in 1946, he and Cammaerts obtained a divorce and Cammaerts married Jack Morpurgo the same year. Although they were not formally adopted, Morpurgo and his brother took on their step-father's name. Morpurgo's older brother, Pieter Morpurgo, later became a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television producer and director. He has two younger siblings, Mark and Kay. Morpurgo's mother was frail, having suffered a breakdown when she was 19, and grieving the loss of her brother Pieter, who was killed in the war in 1941, for the rest of her life. Towards the end of her life she was an alcoholic. Morpurgo and his brother were evacuated to Northumberland when they were very young. After returning to London, the family lived in
Philbeach Gardens Philbeach Gardens is a communal garden square in the Earl's Court district of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The communal garden at the centre of the development is in size and was previously the site of tennis club and courts. ...
,
Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
, where the children played on nearby bombsites. Morpurgo went to primary school at St Matthias,
Earl's Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
. The family later moved to
Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. The village is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located about north-northeast of Southminster and is east from the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Mal ...
in
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
, where Morpurgo would live during the school holidays, having been sent to boarding school in Sussex when he was seven years old. The school was very strict and the boys were beaten frequently. During this period Morpurgo developed a stutter. His unhappy experiences at boarding school would later inform his novel ''
The Butterfly Lion ''The Butterfly Lion'' is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Collins in 1996, and won the 1996 Smarties book prize. The book was adapted into a stage play by Daniel Buckroyd of the Mercury Theat ...
''. After six years at The Abbey school in
Ashurst Wood Ashurst Wood is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England. It is to the southeast of East Grinstead, just off the A22 arterial road. In 2001, the population was 1,771, in ...
, Morpurgo then went to the King's School, an independent school in
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, where he felt less homesick than at his previous school. Morpurgo did not learn who his biological father was until he was 19 years old. After the divorce from Michael's mother, Van Bridge had emigrated to Canada and was never talked about. Morpurgo never saw an image of his father until, while watching the 1962 CBC version of '' Great Expectations'' on TV with his mother, she recognised Van Bridge in the role of Magwitch and said to Michael "That's your father!". They met in person nine years later. Morpurgo's stepfather was not encouraging to his sons and was disappointed that they were not meeting his expectations for them of going into academia like him, calling Michael "a bear with very little brain." His stepfather decided he should join the army and Morpurgo attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He quickly realised that a soldier's life was not for him and left after nine months. Morpurgo later went to study at King's College London, reading English, French, and Philosophy, and graduated with a third class degree. He then joined the teaching profession with a job at Wickhambreaux
Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...
in
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
. He also, in 1968, briefly taught at St. Faith's School in Cambridge.


Personal life

Aged 19, Morpurgo married Clare Lane, eldest daughter of Sir Allen Lane, the founder of
Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.shotgun wedding. Their three children, Sebastian, Horatio and Rosalind, are all named after Shakespearian characters. Morpurgo was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 2017 and received radiotherapy. He has since recovered.


Farms for City Children

In 1976, Morpurgo and his wife Clare established the charity Farms for City Children, with the primary aim of providing children from inner city areas with experience of the countryside. The programme involves the children spending a week at a countryside farm, during which they take part in purposeful farmyard work. The charity's first president was the couple's close friend and neighbour,
Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...
. About 85,000 children have taken part in the scheme since it was set up, and the charity now has three farms in
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
,
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
, and
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
. Morpurgo has referred to the charity as his greatest achievement in life.


Career


From teaching to writing novels

It was not until he was teaching in Kent that Morpurgo discovered his vocation in life, of which he later said "I could see there was magic in it for them, and realized there was magic in it for me." Morpurgo's writing career was inspired by
Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...
' ''Poetry in the Making'',
Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictu ...
's '' The Snow Goose'' and
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
's ''
The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a novella written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cayo Blanco (Cuba), and published in 1952. It was the last major work of fiction written by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. O ...
''."Michael Morpurgo,"
''The Guardian'' (US). 22 July 2008, retrieved 17 April 2011. Hughes and another poet, Seán Rafferty, were influential in his career, with Hughes becoming a friend, mentor and neighbour. Morpurgo credits Hughes and Rafferty with giving him the confidence to write ''War Horse'', his most successful work to date.


Works

* ''It Never Rained: Five Stories'' (1974) * ''Living Poets'' (compiler with Clifford Simmons) (1974) * ''Long Way from Home'' (1975) * ''Thatcher Jones'' (1975) * ''The Story-Teller'' (compiler with Graham Barrett) (1976) * ''Friend or Foe'' (1977) * ''Do All You Dare'' (1978) * ''What Shall We Do with It?'' (1978) * ''All Around the Year'' (with
Ted Hughes Edward James "Ted" Hughes (17 August 1930 – 28 October 1998) was an English poet, translator, and children's writer. Critics frequently rank him as one of the best poets of his generation and one of the twentieth century's greatest wri ...
) (1979) * ''Love at First Sight'' (1979) * ''That's How'' (1979) * ''The Day I Took the Bull By the Horn'' (1979) * ''The Ghost-Fish'' (1979) * ''The Marble Crusher and Other Stories'' (1980) * '' The Nine Lives of Montezuma'' (1980) * ''Miss Wirtle's Revenge'' (1981) * ''The White Horse of Zennor: And Other Stories from below the Eagle's Nest'' (1982) * ''
War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...
'' (1982) * '' Little Foxes'' (1984) * '' Why the Whales Came'' (1985) * ''Words of Songs'' (libretto, music by Phyllis Tate) (1985) * ''Tom's Sausage Lion'' (1986) * ''Conker'' (1987) * ''Jo-Jo, the Melon Donkey'' (1987) * ''King of the Cloud Forests'' (1988) * ''Mossop's Last Chance'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1988) * ' 'My Friend Walter'' (1988) * ''Albertine, Goose Queen'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1989) * ''Twist of Gold'' (1989) * ''Mr. Nobody's Eyes'' (1989) * ''Jigger's Day Off'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1990) * '' Waiting for Anya'' (1990) * ''And Pigs Might Fly!'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1991) * ''Colly's Barn'' (1991) * ''The Sandman and the Turtles'' (1991) * ''Martians at Mudpuddle Farm'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1992) * ''The King in the Forest'' (1993) * ''The War of Jenkins' Ear'' (1993) * ''Arthur, High King of Britain'' (1994) * ''Snakes and Ladders'' (1994) * ''The Dancing Bear'' (1994) * ''Blodin the Beast'' (1995) * ''Mum's the Word'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1995) * ''Stories from Mudpuddle Farm'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1995) * ''
The Wreck of the Zanzibar ''The Wreck Of The Zanzibar'' is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published Great Britain by William Heinemann Publishers in 1995. The book won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1995. Plot summary The story unfolds ...
'' (1995) * ''Robin of Sherwood'' (1996) * ''Sam's Duck'' (1996) * ''
The Butterfly Lion ''The Butterfly Lion'' is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Collins in 1996, and won the 1996 Smarties book prize. The book was adapted into a stage play by Daniel Buckroyd of the Mercury Theat ...
'' (1996) * ''The Ghost of Grania O'Malley'' (1996) * ''The Extraordinary Witch House'' (1996) * ''
Farm Boy Farm Boy Inc. is a Canadian food retailer operating in the province of Ontario. The company is based in Ottawa, Ontario. The retailer markets itself as selling fresh produce and food products, with an emphasis in their branding on farm-to-table. ...
'' (1997) * ''Cockadoodle-doo, Mr Sultana!'' (1998) * ''Escape from Shangri-La'' (1998) * ''Joan of Arc'' (1998) * ''Red Eyes at Night'' (1998) * ''Wartman'' (1998) * '' Kensuke's Kingdom'' (1999) * ''The Rainbow Bear'' (1999) * ''Wombat Goes Walkabout'' (1999) * ''
Billy the Kid Billy the Kid (born Henry McCarty; September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), also known by the pseudonym William H. Bonney, was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West, who killed eight men before he was shot and killed at th ...
'' (2000) * ''Black Queen'' (2000) * ''Dear Olly'' (2000) * ''From Hereabout Hill'' (2000) * ''The Silver Swan'' (2000) * ''Who's a Big Bully Then?'' (2000) * ''More Muck and Magic'' (2001) * ''Out of the Ashes'' (2001) * ''Toro! Toro!'' (2001) * ''Cool!'' (2002) * ''Mr. Skip'' (2002) * ''The Last Wolf'' (2002) * ''The Sleeping Sword'' (2002) * ''Gentle Giant'' (2003) * '' Private Peaceful'' (2003) * ''Dolphin Boy'' (2004) * ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' (2004) * ''The Orchard Book of Aesop's Fables'' (2004), illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark * ''I Believe in Unicorns'' (2005) * ''The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips'' (2005) * ''War: Stories of Conflict'' (compiler) (2005) * ''Albatross'' (2006) * ''It's a Dog's Life'' (2006) * '' Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea'' (2006) * '' Beowulf'' (2006), illustrated by Michael Foreman * ''Born to Run'' (2007) * ''The Mozart Question'' (2007) * ''Hansel and Gretel'' (2008) * ''This Morning I Met a Whale'' (2008) * ''Kaspar: Prince of Cats'' (2008) * ''The Voices of Children'' (2008) (play) * ''The Birthday Book'' (editor, with Quentin Blake) (2008) * '' Running Wild'' (2009) * ''The Kites Are Flying!'' (2009) * ''An Elephant in the Garden'' (2010) * ''Not Bad for a Bad Lad'' (2010) * ''Shadow'' (2010) * ''Little Manfred'' (2011) * ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' (2011) * ''Sparrow: The True Story of Joan of Arc'' (2012) * ''Outlaw: The Story of Robin Hood'' (2012) * ''Homecoming'' (2012) * ''Where My Wellies Take Me'' (with Clare Morpurgo) (2012) * ''A Medal For Leroy'' (2012)London: HarperCollins. * ''Beauty and the Beast'' (2013) * ''The Castle in the Field – Little Gems'' (2013) * ''Pinocchio By Pinocchio'' (2013) * ''The Goose is Getting Fat'' (2013) * ''All I Said Was'' (2014) * ''Half a Man'' (2014) * ''Listen to the Moon'' (2014) * ''Mini Kid'' (2014) * ''Such Stuff: A Story-Maker's Inspiration'' (2016) * ''The Fox and the Ghost King (The Timeless Tale of an Impossible Dream)'' (2016) * ''An Eagle in the Snow'' (2016) * ''Greatest Magical Stories'' (2017) * ''Lucky Button'' (2017) * ''Toto: The Dog-gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz'' (2017) * ''Flamingo Boy'' (2018) * ''In The Mouth of the Wolf'' (2018) * ''The Day the World Stopped Turning'' (2019) * ''Grandpa Christmas'' (2020) * ''A Song of Gladness'' (2021) * ''The Puffin Keeper'' (2021) * ''When Fishes Flew: The Story of Elena's War'' (2021) * ''Carnival of the Animals'' (2021) * ''Flying Scotsman and the Best Birthday Ever'' (2022)


Adaptations

''Gentle Giant'' was presented as an opera by composer Stephen McNeff and librettist Mike Kenny at the Royal Opera House in 2006. Film versions have been made of '' Friend or Foe'' (1981), '' Private Peaceful'' (2012) and ''
When the Whales Came ''When the Whales Came'' is a 1989 British drama film directed by Clive Rees and starring Helen Mirren, Paul Scofield, David Suchet, Barbara Jefford, David Threlfall, John Hallam, Barbara Ewing, and Jeremy Kemp. It is based on the 1985 children ...
'' (1989), the latter also being adapted to a stage play. ''My Friend Walter'' (1988) 'Purple Penguins' (2000) and ''Out of the Ashes'' (2001) have been adapted for television. Composer Stephen Barlow created a musical adaptation of ''Rainbow Bear'', narrated by his wife
Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulous'' (1992 ...
. This was subsequently presented as a ballet by the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain in August 2010. ''
War Horse The first evidence of horses in warfare dates from Eurasia between 4000 and 3000 BC. A Sumerian illustration of warfare from 2500 BC depicts some type of equine pulling wagons. By 1600 BC, improved harness and chariot designs ...
'' has been adapted as a radio broadcast and as a stage play by
Nick Stafford Nick Stafford (born Nicholas Thomas, 1959 in Staffordshire) is a British playwright and writer. He is best known for writing War Horse (play), the stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel ''War Horse (novel), War Horse'', which garnered him a ...
, premiering at the National Theatre, London, on 17 October 2007. The horses were played by life-sized horse puppets designed and built by the
Handspring Puppet Company The Handspring Puppet Company is a puppetry performance and design company established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jon Weinberg and Jill Joubert. It is based in Cape Town, South Africa. History Jones and Kohler met at the Michael ...
of
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. It won two Olivier Awards in 2007. Initially intended to run for 16 weeks, due to popular demand the show transferred to the
New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...
in the West End on 28 March 2009. It closed in the West End after eight years, having been seen by 2.7 million people in London and seven million worldwide at the time. It was the most successful production of the National Theatre ever. On 15 March 2011, the show premiered on
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
at the
Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Bro ...
. The play's Broadway production won five
Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...
, including Best Play. It went on several UK tours and was also staged in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, and The Netherlands. It was seen by seven million people outside the UK. In 2011, ''War Horse'' was adapted by Lee Hall and
Richard Curtis Richard Whalley Anthony Curtis (born 8 November 1956) is a New Zealand-born British screenwriter, producer and film director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known primarily for romantic comedy films, among them '' ...
as a British film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film was nominated numerous awards, including six
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
and five BAFTA Awards. '' Waiting for Anya'' was adapted as a film of the same title released in 2020.


Reception and influence

''Reading Matters'' website calls Morpurgo's 1999 ''Kensuke's Kingdom'' "A quietly told story, but plenty of drama and emotion." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' describes ''Private Peaceful'', his 2003 novel for older children, as a "humanising and humane work".


Children's Laureate

Morpurgo and Hughes, then
Poet Laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...
, originated the idea of
Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the 'Waterstones Children's Laureate' is a prestigious 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 fie ...
role. Morpurgo became the third person to fill the two-year position, from 2003 to 2005.Lyall, Sarah
"Undaunted Author of ‘War Horse’ Reflects on Unlikely Hit"
''The New York Times''. 11 April 2011; retrieved 17 April 2011.


Literary awards and prizes

;Shortlisted *1991 Carnegie Medal: '' Waiting for Anya'' *1995 Carnegie Medal: ''Arthur, High King of Britain'' *1996 Carnegie Medal: ''
The Wreck of the Zanzibar ''The Wreck Of The Zanzibar'' is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published Great Britain by William Heinemann Publishers in 1995. The book won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1995. Plot summary The story unfolds ...
'' *2002 W. H. Smith Award for Children's Literature: ''Out of the Ashes'' *2003
Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme ''Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...
: The Book I Couldn't Put Down: ''Cool!'' *2003 Carnegie Medal: '' Private Peaceful'' *2004 Whitbread Children's Book Award: '' Private Peaceful'' *2012 Bippo award for books *2010 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis ''(German youth literature prize)'': ''Warten auf Anya'' ''( Waiting for Anya)'' *2014 Costa Children's Book Award: ''Listen to the Moon'' ;Awarded *1993 Prix Sorcières (France): ''King of the Cloud Forests'' *1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award: ''
The Wreck of the Zanzibar ''The Wreck Of The Zanzibar'' is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published Great Britain by William Heinemann Publishers in 1995. The book won the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1995. Plot summary The story unfolds ...
'' *1996
Nestlé Smarties Book Prize The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British children's books that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and ...
(Gold Award): ''
The Butterfly Lion ''The Butterfly Lion'' is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Collins in 1996, and won the 1996 Smarties book prize. The book was adapted into a stage play by Daniel Buckroyd of the Mercury Theat ...
'' *1999 Prix Sorcières (France): ''Wombat Goes Walkabout'' *2000
Red House Children's Book Award The Federation of Children's Book Groups Children's Book Award is a set of annual literary prizes for children's books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar year. It recognises one "Overall" winner and one book in each of three cat ...
: ''Kensuke's Kingdom'' *2001 Prix Sorcières (France): ''Kensuke's Kingdom'' *2002 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Bronze Award): ''The Last Wolf'' *2004 Red House Children's Book Award: '' Private Peaceful'' *2005 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award: '' Private Peaceful'' *2005 Hampshire Book Award: '' Private Peaceful'' *2008 California Young Reader Medal: '' Private Peaceful'' *2011 Red House Children's Book Award: ''Shadow'' *2017 Red House Children's Book Award: ''An Eagle in the Snow'' *2021 Chen Bochui Children's Literature Award (China) – best author


Political views

In a January 2014 article, Morpurgo stated "as we begin to mark the centenary of the first world war, we should honour those who died, most certainly, and gratefully too, but we should never glorify... Come each November over the next four years, let the
red poppy ''Papaver rhoeas'', with common names including common poppy, corn poppy, corn rose, field poppy, Flanders poppy, and red poppy, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is a temperate native with a ...
and the white poppy be worn together to honour those who died, to keep our faith with them, to make of this world a place where freedom and peace can reign together." In August 2014, Morpurgo was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue. Prior to the 2015 general election, he was one of several celebrities who endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the Green Party's Caroline Lucas. In 2016, he condemned government plans to extend grammar schools as divisive and "quite deeply stupid". In the run-up to the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, Morpurgo expressed his support for the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
in an interview with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, and reinforced this with a ten-minute
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

Point of View
on 5 August 2018.


Honours and appointments

Morpurgo and his wife Clare were both appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(MBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for services to young people. He was advanced to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
2006 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2006 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 17 June 2006, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2006.Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, an ...
for services to literature and was made a
Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...
in the
2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...
for services to literature and charity. Morpurgo was awarded an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
at Bishop Grosseteste University on 17 July 2013. He was awarded the
honorary degree An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
of
Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...
(D.Litt.) by Newcastle University on 12 July 2017. Morpurgo was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for Devon on 10 April 2015. Morpurgo is also President of BookTrust, the UK's largest children's reading charity.


Radio and television broadcasts

*''The Invention of Childhood'' (2006) (with Hugh Cunningham),
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
*''Set Our Children Free'': the 2011
Richard Dimbleby Lecture The ''Richard Dimbleby Lecture'' (also known as the ''Dimbleby Lecture'') is an annual television lecture founded in memory of Richard Dimbleby (1913—1965), the BBC broadcaster. It has been delivered by an influential business, scientific or ...
.
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
, 15 February 2011. *" Alone on a Wide Wide Sea": BBC Radio 2, 7–10 August 2017


Biographies

* Carey, Joanna (1999). ''Interview with Michael Morpurgo''. * Fergusson, Maggie (2012). ''Michael Morpurgo: War Child to War Horse''. * Fox, Geoff (2004). ''Dear Mr Morpingo: Inside the World of Michael Morpurgo''. * McCarthy, Shaun (2005). ''Michael Morpurgo''.


References


Further reading

* Morpurgo, Michael et al. ''La Revue Des Livres Pour Enfants'' Number 250, December 2009: "Michael Morpurgo" pp 79–124. *


External links

* * (old version)
Michael Morpurgo
at publisher
Egmont Books Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the bes ...
* *
The Observer: "Once upon a life: Michael Morpurgo"
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morpurgo, Michael 1943 births 20th-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English male writers 21st-century British novelists Alumni of King's College London Associates of King's College British Children's Laureate British people of Belgian descent Deputy Lieutenants of Devon English children's writers English historical novelists English male novelists English male poets Fellows of King's College London Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Knights Bachelor Living people New Statesman people Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at The King's School, Canterbury People from St Albans