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Sir Philip Nicholas Outram Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is an English writer. His books include the

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

trilogy ''

His Dark Materials ''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (1995; published as ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), '' The Subtle Knife'' (1997), and '' The Amber Spyglass'' (2000). It follo ...

'' and ''

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'' is a novel by Philip Pullman. Published in 2010 by Canongate Books, as part of the Canongate Myth Series, it retells the story of Jesus as if he were two people, brothers, "Jesus" and "Christ," w ...

'', a fictionalised biography of Jesus. In 2008, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' named Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". In a 2004

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. ...

...

poll, he was named the eleventh most influential person in British culture. He was knighted in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to literature. ''Northern Lights'', the first volume in ''His Dark Materials'', won the 1995 Carnegie Medal of the Library Association as the year's outstanding English-language children's book.(Carnegie Winner 1995)
. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners.

CILIP The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the ...

. Retrieved 9 July 2012. For the 70th anniversary it was named in the top ten by a panel composing the public election for an all-time favourite."70 Years Celebration: Anniversary Top Tens"
. The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards.

. Retrieved 9 July 2012. It won the public vote from the shortlist and was named all-time " Carnegie of Carnegies" in June 2007. It was filmed under the book's US title, ''

The Golden Compass ''Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America and some other countries) is a young-adult fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, published in 1995 by Scholastic UK. Set in a parallel universe, it follows the journey of Lyra Be ...

''. In 2003, ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy ranked third in the BBC's

The Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time. The year-long survey wa ...

, a poll of 200 top novels voted by the British public.

Life and career

Philip Pullman was born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

, England, the son of Audrey Evelyn Pullman (née Merrifield) and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

pilot Alfred Outram Pullman. The family travelled with his father's job, including to

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked self-governing British Crown colony in southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally kno ...

, though most of his formative years were spent in

Llanbedr Llanbedr () is a village and community south of Harlech. Administratively, it lies in the Ardudwy area, formerly Meirionnydd, of the county of Gwynedd, Wales. History Ancient monuments at Llanbedr include Neolithic standing stones; the St ...

Ardudwy Ardudwy is an area of Gwynedd in north-west Wales, lying between Tremadog Bay and the Rhinogydd. Administratively, under the old Kingdom of Gwynedd, it was first a division of the sub kingdom (cantref) of Dunoding and later a commote in its own ...

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 ...

. When Pullman was seven, his father, an RAF pilot, was killed in a plane crash in 1954 in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, being posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC). In an exchange with a journalist in 2008, Pullman said that, as a boy, he saw his father as "a hero, steeped in glamour, killed in action defending his country", and who had been "training pilots". Pullman was then presented with a report from ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'' is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' of 1954 "which carried the official RAF news of the day ndsaid that the medal was given for 'gallant and distinguished service' during the Mau Mau uprising. 'The main task of the Harvards he aircraft flown by his father's unithad been bombing and machine-gunning Mau Mau and their hideouts in densely wooded and difficult country.' This included 'diving steeply into the gorges of ariousrivers, often in conditions of low cloud and driving rain.' Testing conditions, yes, but not much opposition from the enemy, the journalist in the exchange continued. Very few of the Mau Mau had guns that could land a blow on an aircraft." Responding to that new information, Pullman wrote: "My father probably doesn't come out of this with very much credit, judged by the standards of modern liberal progressive thought", and he accepted the revelation as "a serious challenge to his childhood memory." In the 2017 BBC series documentary ''

Imagine Imagine may refer to: * Imagination Music Albums * ''Imagine'' (Armin van Buuren album), 2008 * ''Imagine'' (Eva Cassidy album), 2002 * ''Imagine'' (Janice Vidal album), 2012 * ''Imagine'' (John Lennon album), 1971 ** ''Imagine: John Lennon' ...

'', Pullman said that he has since become aware that his father could have crashed his plane deliberately, saying "There was something odd about the crash ... he just took his plane up and flew into the side of a hill", citing rumours of his father having debt troubles and a problematic love affair. His mother remarried the following year and, following a move to North Wales, Pullman discovered comic books, including '' Superman'' and '' Batman'', a medium which he continues to enjoy. In his early years, Pullman attended

Taverham Hall School , established = Founded as Taverham Hall 1920Merged with Langley Prep 2016 , type = Independentday and boarding school , religious_affiliation = Anglican , head_label = Headmaster , head ...

and Eaton House and, from 1957, he was educated at

Ysgol Ardudwy Ysgol Ardudwy is a bilingual secondary school for 11–16 year olds at Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales. It serves the seaside communities of Penrhyndeudraeth, Harlech, Abermaw ( Barmouth) and nearby villages. It had 316 pupils on the roll in 2022. Wel ...

Harlech Harlech () is a seaside resort and community in Gwynedd, north Wales and formerly in the historic county of Merionethshire. It lies on Tremadog Bay in the Snowdonia National Park. Before 1966, it belonged to the Meirionydd District of the 19 ...

, Gwynedd, spending time in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

with his grandfather, a clergyman. Around that time, Pullman discovered John Milton's '' Paradise Lost'', which would become a major influence for ''His Dark Materials''. From 1965, Pullman attended

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

, receiving a Third-class BA in 1968. In an interview with the ''Oxford Student'', he noted that he "did not really enjoy the English course", and that "I thought I was doing quite well until I came out with my third class degree and then I realised that I wasn't – it was the year they stopped giving fourth class degrees otherwise I'd have got one of those". He discovered

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

's illustrations around 1970, which would also influence him greatly. Pullman married Judith Speller in 1970, they went on to have two sons together. At the time of his marriage he began teaching children aged 9 to 13 at Bishop Kirk Middle School in Summertown, North Oxford, as well as writing school plays. His first published work was '' The Haunted Storm'', which was joint-winner of the New English Library's Young Writer's Award in 1972, but which he refuses to discuss. ''Galatea'', an adult fantasy-fiction novel, followed in 1978, but it was his school plays which inspired his first children's book, ''Count Karlstein'', in 1982. He stopped teaching shortly after the publication of his second children's book, ''The Ruby in the Smoke'' (1986), which has a Victorian setting. Between 1988 and 1996, Pullman taught part-time at

Westminster College, Oxford Westminster College was a teacher training college and college of higher education in England. The college was founded in London in 1851 as a training institute for teachers for Wesleyan Methodist schools, but moved to Oxford in 1959. Before t ...

, continuing to write children's stories. He began ''His Dark Materials'' in about 1993. The first book, ''Northern Lights'', was published in 1995 (entitled ''The Golden Compass'' in the U.S., 1996). Pullman won both the annual Carnegie Medal and the

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annual recognised one fiction book written for children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conferred upon the author ...

, a similar award that authors may not win twice."Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners"
''The Guardian'' 12 March 2001. Retrieved 2 August 2012. Pullman has been writing full-time since 1996. He continues to deliver talks and writes occasionally for ''

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 ...

'', including writing and lecturing about education, in which he is often critical of unimaginative education policies. He was awarded a

CBE 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 ...

in the New Year's Honours list in 2004. He also co-judged the Christopher Tower Poetry Prize (awarded by

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

) in 2005 with

Gillian Clarke Gillian Clarke (born 8 June 1937) is a Welsh poet and playwright, who also edits, broadcasts, lectures and translates from Welsh into English. She co-founded Tŷ Newydd, a writers' centre in North Wales. Life Gillian Clarke was born on 8 J ...

. In 2004, he was elected President of the Blake Society. In 2004 Pullman also guest-edited ''

The Mays ''The Mays Literary Anthology'' (or just ''The Mays'') is an annual anthology of new writing by students from the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. History Anthologies of poetry by undergraduates from the University of Oxfor ...

Anthology'', a collection of new writing from students at the Universities of Oxford and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

. In 2005, Pullman won the annual

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award ( sv, Litteraturpriset till Astrid Lindgrens minne) is an international children's literary award established by the Swedish government in 2002 to honour the Swedish children's author Astrid Lindgren (1907– ...

from the Swedish Arts Council, recognising his career contribution to "children's and young adult literature in the broadest sense". According to the presentation, "Pullman radically injects new life into fantasy by introducing a variety of alternative worlds and by allowing good and evil to become ambiguous." In every genre, "he combines storytelling and psychological insight of the highest order.""2005: Philip Pullman: Maintaining an Optimistic Belief in the Child"
. The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. Retrieved 2012-08-13. In 2006, he was one of five finalists for the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Medal, and he was the British nominee again in 2012. In 2008, he started working on '' The Book of Dust'', a companion trilogy to his ''His Dark Materials'', and "The Adventures of John Blake", a story for the British children's comic '' The DFC'', with artist John Aggs. On 23 November 2007, Pullman was made an honorary professor at Bangor University. In June 2008, he became a fellow supporting the MA in creative writing at Oxford Brookes University. In September 2008, he hosted "The Writer's Table" for Waterstone's bookshop chain, highlighting 40 books which have influenced his career. In October 2009, he became a patron of the

Palestine Festival of Literature The Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) is an annual literary festival, founded in 2008, that takes place in cities across Palestine. History The festival was founded in 2008 with the stated mission of affirming "the power of cultur ...

. He is also a patron of the

Shakespeare Schools Festival Please note: Shakespeare Schools Festival became Shakespeare Schools Foundation in 2016. The Festival is the charity's flagship project. The Shakespeare Schools Festival is the world's largest youth drama festival. Schools who participate perfor ...

, a charity that enables school children across the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres On 24 June 2009, Pullman was awarded the degree of D.Litt. (Doctor of Letters), ''honoris causa'', by the University of Oxford at the Encænia ceremony in the Sheldonian Theatre. In 2012, during a break from writing ''The Book of Dust'', Pullman was asked by Penguin Classics to curate 50 of Grimms' classic fairytales, from their compendium of over 200 stories. "They are not all of the same quality", said Pullman. "Some are easily much better than others. And some are obvious classics. You can't do a selected Grimms' without

Rumpelstiltskin "Rumpelstiltskin" ( ; german: Rumpelstilzchen) is a German fairy tale. It was collected by the Brothers Grimm in the 1812 edition of '' Children's and Household Tales''. The story is about a little imp who spins straw into gold in exchange for a ...

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

and so on." In 2013, Pullman was elected President of the

Society of Authors The Society of Authors (SoA) is a United Kingdom trade union for professional writers, illustrators and literary translators, founded in 1884 to protect the rights and further the interests of authors. , it represents over 12,000 members and ass ...

– the "ultimate honour" awarded by the British writers' body, and a position first held by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. On 19 October 2017, the first volume of ''The Book of Dust'' was published by Penguin Random House Children's and David Fickling in the UK and by Random House Children's in the US. The second title in ''The Book of Dust'', ''

The Secret Commonwealth ''The Secret Commonwealth'' is a 2019 fantasy novel by Philip Pullman, the second volume of his planned trilogy '' The Book of Dust''. The story is set twenty years or so after the events of '' La Belle Sauvage'' and ten years after the conclus ...

'', published in October 2019, includes a character named after Nur Huda el-Wahabi, a 16-year-old victim of London's Grenfell Tower fire. As part of the charity auction Authors for Grenfell Tower, Pullman offered the highest bidder a chance to name a character in the upcoming trilogy. Ultimately, he raised £32,400. Pullman was named 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 2019 New Year's Honours list. In March 2019, the charity Action for Children's Art presented Pullman with their annual

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succ ...

Award to mark a "lifetime's achievement in delighting children". A lifelong fan of

Norwich City F.C. Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the ...

, Pullman penned the foreword to the club's official history, published in 2020.

''His Dark Materials''

''His Dark Materials'' is a trilogy consisting of '' Northern Lights'' (titled ''The Golden Compass'' in North America), ''

The Subtle Knife ''The Subtle Knife'' is a young-adult fantasy novel published in 1997 and the second book in Philip Pullman's ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy. The novel continues the adventures of Lyra Belacqua (now known as Lyra Silvertongue) recounted in th ...

'' and ''

The Amber Spyglass ''The Amber Spyglass'' is the third novel in the '' His Dark Materials'' trilogy by Philip Pullman. Published in 2000, it won the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year award, the first children's novel to do so. It was named Children's Book of the Y ...

''. ''Northern Lights'' won the Carnegie Medal for children's fiction in the UK in 1995. ''The Amber Spyglass'' was awarded both 2001

Whitbread Prize The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

for best children's book and the Whitbread Book of the Year prize in January 2002, the first children's book to receive that award. The series won popular acclaim in late 2003, taking third place in the

...
's

Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time. The year-long survey w ...

poll. Pullman has written two companion pieces to the trilogy, '' Lyra's Oxford'' and '' Once Upon a Time in the North''. He refers to a third, which will expand his character Will Parry, as the "green book". Another trilogy, ''The Book of Dust'', includes characters and events from the ''His Dark Materials''. Pullman has said that the new series is neither sequel, nor prequel, but an "equel". The first book, ''

La Belle Sauvage ''La Belle Sauvage'' is a fantasy novel by Philip Pullman published in 2017. It is the first volume of a planned trilogy titled ''The Book of Dust'' and is set twelve years before Pullman's ''His Dark Materials''. It presents events prior to the ...

'', was published in October 2017 and the second book, ''

'', in October 2019. Pullman has narrated unabridged audiobooks of the three novels in the ''His Dark Materials'' trilogy; the other parts are read by actors, including

Jo Wyatt Jo Wyatt is an English actress. She is known for her voice as Tweak in '' The Octonauts'', Little Miss Helpful, Little Miss Naughty, Little Miss Scary and Little Miss Sunshine in '' The Mr. Men Show''. She also voiced Daisy Kribotnik in ''Lov ...

Steven Webb Steven Michael Webb (born 8 November 1984 in Wirral, Merseyside, England) is an English actor in theatre, television and film.

, Peter England,

Stephen Thorne Stephen John Thorne (2 March 1935 – 26 May 2019) was a British actor of radio, film, stage, and television. He was best known for his regular BBC Radio 4 work and audiobook recordings, and for his portrayals of several ''Doctor Who'' villains ...

and

Douglas Blackwell Douglas Blackwell (17 May 1924 – 17 October 2009) was an English actor. Douglas Blackwell was born in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, but brought up in Port Talbot, Wales, where he attended the local county grammar school. He narrated ...

. In a discussion on fantasy as escapism, Pullman admitted he never reads fantasy as "it's not satisfying". He then went on to argue that he sees ''His Dark Materials'' as "stark realism", not fantasy.

Campaigns and views

Pullman has been a vocal campaigner on a number of book-related and political issues.

Views on fantasy

In a lecture at the Sea of Faith conference, Pullman said that "the writers we call the greatest of all -

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel '' In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous E ...

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

herself, are those who have created the most lifelike simulacra of real human beings in real human situations. In fact the more profound and powerful the imagination, the closer to reality are the forms it dreams up." He said he wanted to write fantasy realistically, or write fantastic characters with psychological depth: "Because when I thought about it, there was no reason why fantasy shouldn't be realistic, in a psychological sense - and it was the lack of that sort of realism that I objected to in the work of the big

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works '' The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawl ...

and all the little Tolkiens." He says David Lindsay's ''

A Voyage to Arcturus ''A Voyage to Arcturus'' is a novel by the Scottish writer David Lindsay, first published in 1920. An interstellar voyage is the framework for a narrative of a journey through fantastic landscapes. The story is set at Tormance, an imaginary pl ...

'' "shows that fantasy is capable of saying big and important things." He concludes that fantasy is "a great vehicle when it serves the purposes of realism, and a lot of old cobblers when it doesn't." He has praised fantasy authors like

Alan Garner Alan Garner (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native coun ...

and Neil Gaiman.

Views on children's literature

Pullman believes that children deserve quality literature, and that there isn't a clear demarcation between children's and adult literature. In a talk at the Royal Society of Literature, he quoted

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

in “On Three Ways of Writing for Children”: “I now like hock, which I am sure I should not have liked as a child. But I still like lemon-squash. I call this growth or development because I have been enriched: where I formerly had only one pleasure, I now have two.” He says that "It would be nice to think that normal human curiosity would let us open our minds to experience from every quarter, to listen to every storyteller in the marketplace. It would be nice too, occasionally, to read a review of an adult book that said, 'This book is so interesting, and so clearly and beautifully written, that children would enjoy it as well.'" He is an admirer of

Philippa Pearce Ann Philippa Pearce OBE (22 January 1920 – 21 December 2006) was an English author of children's books. Best known of them is the time-slip novel ''Tom's Midnight Garden'', which won the 1958 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, as ...

; when Pullman's ''Northern Lights'' won the Carnegie of Carnegies, Pearce's ''

Tom's Midnight Garden ''Tom's Midnight Garden'' is a children's fantasy novel by Philippa Pearce. It was first published in 1958 by Oxford University Press with illustrations by Susan Einzig. It has been reissued in print many times and also adapted for radio, tele ...

'' was the runner-up. Pullman said "Personally, I feel they got the initials right but not the name. I don't know if the result would be the same in a hundred years' time; maybe Philippa Pearce would win then." In 2011, Pullman gave the Philippa Pearce lecture. He is also an admirer of

Leon Garfield Leon Garfield FRSL (14 July 1921 – 2 June 1996) was a British writer of fiction. He is best known for children's historical novels, though he also wrote for adults. He wrote more than thirty books and scripted '' Shakespeare: The Animated Ta ...

, "someone who put the best of his imagination into everything he wrote", particularly praising ''The Pleasure Garden''.

Monarchy

In 2002, to coincide with the

Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years a ...

, Pullman was interviewed for a feature in ''

'' on notable republicans. According to Pullman, "The present system is unsustainable, because it is cruel. No individual and no family should be subject to the pressures of publicity and expectation that have beset the Windsors." Expressing sympathy for the young

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educa ...

, Pullman added, "we can't have a quiet, sensible, unobtrusive sort of monarchy because of the mistakes the Windsors have made, and because of the disgusting and unredeemable nature of the tabloid press; so we shall have to have a republic. The one thing to avoid is a political president. Let's have a well-respected figure from some other walk of life, and leave politics to the prime minister and parliament." In 2010, ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' described Pullman's Jesus in ''

'' as "a proper republican in the Pullman sense of the word: instinctively fraternal and anti-institutional, spreading his rough-and-ready enlightenments across the horizontal axis."

Age and gender labelling of books

In 2008, Pullman led a campaign against the introduction of age bands on the covers of children's books, saying: "It's based on a one-dimensional view of growth, which regards growing older as moving along a line like a monkey climbing a stick: now you're seven, so you read these books; and now you're nine so you read these." More than 1,200 authors, booksellers, illustrators, librarians and teachers joined the campaign; Pullman's own publisher, Scholastic, agreed to his request not to put the age bands on his book covers. Joel Rickett, deputy editor of ''

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest ...

'', said: "The steps taken by Mr Pullman and other authors have taken the industry by surprise and I think these proposals are now in the balance." In 2014, Pullman supported the Let Books Be Books campaign to stop children's books being labelled as "for girls" or "for boys", saying: "I'm against anything, from age-ranging to pinking and blueing, whose effect is to shut the door in the face of children who might enjoy coming in. No publisher should announce on the cover of any book the sort of readers the book would prefer. Let the readers decide for themselves."

Civil liberties

Pullman has a strong commitment to traditional British civil liberties and is noted for his criticism of growing state authority and government encroachment into everyday life. In February 2009, he was the keynote speaker at the Convention on Modern Liberty in London and wrote an extended piece in ''The Times'' condemning the Labour government for its attacks on basic civil rights. Later, he and other authors threatened to stop visiting schools in protest at new laws requiring them to be vetted to work with youngsters—though officials claimed that the laws had been misinterpreted.

Public jury

In July 2011, Pullman was one of the lead campaigners signing a declaration that called for a 1,000-strong "public jury", selected at random, to draw up a "public interest first" test to ensure that power was taken away from "remote interest groups". The declaration was also signed by 56 academics, writers, trade unionists and politicians from the Labour Party, the Liberal Democrats and the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...

Library closures

In October 2011, Pullman backed a campaign to stop 600 library closures in England, calling it a "war against stupidity". London Borough of Brent claimed that it was closing half of its libraries to fulfil its "exciting plans" to improve its library service. Pullman said: "All the time, you see, the council had been longing to improve the library service, and the only thing standing in the way was – the libraries." Speaking at a conference organised by The Library Campaign and Voices for the Library, he added:

The book is second only to the wheel as the best piece of technology human beings have ever invented. A book symbolises the whole intellectual history of mankind; it's the greatest weapon ever devised in the war against stupidity. Beware of anyone who tries to make books harder to get at. And that is exactly what these closures are going to do – oh, not intentionally, except in a few cases; very few people are stupid intentionally; but that will be the effect. Books will be harder to get at. Stupidity will gain a little ground.

Ebook library loans

In advance of becoming president of the

in August 2013, Pullman led a call for authors to be fairly paid for ebook library loans. Under arrangements in force at the time, authors were paid 6p per library loan by the government for physical books, but nothing for ebook loans. In addition, the Society found that publishers had possibly been inadvertently underpaying authors for ebook loans. Altogether, this may have resulted in authors losing up to two-thirds of the income they would have received on the sale and loan of a physical book. Addressing this issue, Pullman said:

New media and new forms of buying and lending are all very interesting, for all kinds of reasons, but one principle remains unchanged: authors must be paid fairly for their work. Any arrangement that doesn't acknowledge that principle is a bad one, and needs to be changed. That is our whole argument.

William Blake's cottage and memorial stone

As a long-time enthusiast of

, and president of the Blake Society, Pullman led a campaign in 2014 to buy the Sussex cottage where the poet lived between 1800 and 1803, saying:

Surely it isn't beyond the resources of a nation that can spend enormous amounts of money on acts of folly and unnecessary warfare, a nation that likes to boast about its literary heritage, to find the money to pay for a proper memorial and a centre for the study of this great poet and artist. Not least because this is the place where he wrote the words now often sung as an alternative (and better) national anthem, the poem known as
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
: "And did those feet in ancient time". Blake's feet walked in
Felpham Felpham (, sometimes pronounced locally as ''Felf-fm'') is a village and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. Although sometimes considered part of the urban area of greater Bognor Regis, it is a village and civil parish in ...
. Let's not let this opportunity pass by.

As president of the Blake Society, on 11 August 2018, Pullman inaugurated Blake's new memorial gravestone on the site of his grave in Bunhill Fields, following a long campaign by the society.

Fees for guest authors at book festivals

In January 2016, Pullman resigned as patron of the Oxford Literary Festival after five years, saying that its continued refusal to pay authors fees for appearing as guest speakers at the event placed him in an "awkward position" because it conflicted with his presidency of the

, which campaigns for authors to be paid for appearing at book festivals. He made the announcement on Twitter, saying that he had made lengthy attempts to persuade the Festival to pay authors, "but they won't. Time to go". Reporting Pullman's decision, UK daily newspaper ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'' noted: "The Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society found in 2014 that the average earnings of a professional full-time author is just £11,000."

Boycott of Brexit 50p coin

In January 2020, Pullman called for literate people to boycott the newly minted

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

50p coin due to the omission of the Oxford comma in its slogan "Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations". The viewpoint was supported by some, while

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

Susie Dent indicated it was optional and Baroness Bakewell said she had been "taught that it was wrong to use the comma in such circumstances".

Perspective on religion

Although Pullman has stated he is "a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

atheist, and a

1662 Book of Common Prayer The 1662 ''Book of Common Prayer'' is an authorised liturgical book of the Church of England and other Anglican bodies around the world. In continuous print and regular use for over 360 years, the 1662 prayer book is the basis for numerous o ...

atheist, because that's the tradition I was brought up in", he has also said he is technically an agnostic. He has singled out elements of Christianity for criticism: "if there is a God, and he is as the Christians describe him, then he deserves to be put down and rebelled against." He has also acknowledged that the same could be said of all religions. Pullman has also referred to himself as knowingly "of the Devil's party", a reference to William Blake's revisionist view of Milton in ''

The Marriage of Heaven and Hell ''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'' is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary belief ...

''. Pullman is a supporter of Humanists UK and an Honorary Associate of the

National Secular Society The National Secular Society (NSS) is a British campaigning organisation that promotes secularism and the separation of church and state. It holds that no one should gain advantage or disadvantage because of their religion or lack of it. It was ...

. In 2011, he was given a services to Humanism award by the British Humanist Association for his contribution as a longstanding supporter. On 15 September 2010, Pullman, along with 54 other public figures (including

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

, Professor Richard Dawkins,

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English humourist, satirist, and author of fantasy novels, especially comical works. He is best known for his '' Discworld'' series of 41 novels. Pratchett's first no ...

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 1 ...

and

Ken Follett Kenneth Martin Follett, (born 5 June 1949) is a British author of thrillers and historical novels who has sold more than 160 million copies of his works. Many of his books have achieved high ranking on best seller lists. For example, in the ...

), signed an open letter published in ''

'' stating their opposition to

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

being given "the honour of a state visit" to the UK; the letter argued that the Pope had led and condoned global abuses of human rights, leading a state which has "resisted signing many major human rights treaties and has formed its own treaties ("concordats") with many states which negatively affect the human rights of citizens of those states". ''

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * '' The ...

'' journalist Laura Miller described Pullman as one of England's most outspoken atheists. He has characterised atheist totalitarian regimes as religions. Alan Jacobs (of Wheaton College) said that in ''His Dark Materials'' Pullman replaced the

theist Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with ''deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred to ...

world-view of John Milton's '' Paradise Lost'' with a Rousseauist one. The books in the series have been criticised for their attitude to religion, especially Catholicism, by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and Focus on the Family. Writing in the ''

Catholic Herald The ''Catholic Herald'' is a London-based Roman Catholic monthly newspaper and starting December 2014 a magazine, published in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and, formerly, the United States. It reports a total circulation of abo ...

'' in 1999, Leonie Caldecott cited Pullman's work as an example of fiction "far more worthy of the bonfire than Harry otter on the grounds that

" yco-opting Catholic terminology and playing with Judaeo-Christian theological concepts, Pullman is effectively removing, among a mass audience of a highly impressionable age, some of the building blocks for future evangelisation".

Pullman was flattered and asked his publisher to include quotes from Caldecott's article in his next book. In 2002, the ''Catholic Herald'' published an article by Sarah Johnson that compared Pullman to a "playground bully" whose work "attacks a religious minority". The following year, after

Benedict Allen Benedict Colin Allen FRGS (born 1 March 1960) is an English writer, explorer, traveller and filmmaker known for his technique of immersion among indigenous peoples from whom he acquires survival skills for hazardous journeys through unfamiliar ...

's reference to the criticism during the BBC TV series ''

'', the ''Catholic Herald'' republished both articles and Caldecott claimed her "bonfire" comment was a joke and accused Pullman and his supporters of quoting her out of context. In a longer article for '' Touchstone'' magazine earlier in 2003, Caldecott had also described Pullman's work as "axe-grinding" and "a kind of Luciferian enterprise". Columnist

Peter Hitchens Peter Jonathan Hitchens (born 28 October 1951) is an English author, broadcaster, journalist, and commentator. He writes for '' The Mail on Sunday'' and was a foreign correspondent reporting from both Moscow and Washington, D.C. Peter Hitchens ...

, in a 2002 article for ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first pub ...

'', accused Pullman of "killing god" and described him as "the most dangerous author in Britain" because he said in an interview: "I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief." Pullman responded by posting Hitchens' article on his study wall. In that interview, which was for a February 2001 article in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', Pullman acknowledged that a controversy would be likely to boost sales, but continued: "I'm not in the business of offending people. I find the books upholding certain values that I think are important, such as life is immensely valuable and this world is an extraordinarily beautiful place. We should do what we can to increase the amount of wisdom in the world." Hitchens also views the ''His Dark Materials'' series as a direct rebuttal of

's ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, tele ...

''; Pullman has criticised the Narnia books as religious propaganda. Hitchens' brother

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

, author of ''

God Is Not Great ''God Is Not Great'' (sometimes stylized as ''god is not Great'') is a 2007 book by British-American author and journalist Christopher Hitchens, in which he makes a case against organized religion. It was originally published in the United Kingd ...

'', praised ''His Dark Materials'' as a fresh alternative to Lewis,

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

and

J. K. Rowling Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...

, describing the author as one "whose books have begun to dissolve the frontier between adult and juvenile fiction". However, he was more critical of ''

'', accusing Pullman of being a "Protestant atheist" for supporting the teachings of Christ but being critical of organised religion. Pullman has found support from some Christians, most notably

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, who argued that Pullman's attacks focus on the constraints and dangers of

dogma Dogma is a belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Isla ...

tism and the use of religion to

oppress Oppression is malice (law), malicious or injustice, unjust treatment or exercise of power (social and political), power, often under the guise of governmental authority or cultural opprobrium. Oppression may be overt or covert, depending on how i ...

, not on Christianity itself. Williams recommended ''His Dark Materials'' for discussion in Religious Education classes, and said that "to see large school-parties in the audience of the Pullman plays at the National Theatre is vastly encouraging". Pullman and Williams took part in a National Theatre platform debate a few days later to discuss myth, religious experience and its representation in the arts. Donna Freitas, professor of religion at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

, argued that challenges to traditional images of God should be welcomed as part of a "lively dialogue about faith". The Christian writers Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware "also uncover spiritual themes within the books". Pullman's contribution to the ''Canongate Myth'' series, ''The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ'', was described by Mike Collett-White as "a far more direct exploration of the foundations of Christianity and the church as well as an examination of the fascination and power of storytelling". In a 2017 interview with ''The Times Magazine'', Pullman said: "The place religion has in our lives is a permanent one." He concluded that there was "no point in condemning eligion, and mused that it is part of the human mind to ask philosophical questions such as the purpose of life. He reiterated that it was useless to "become censorious about eligion to say there is no God". He also mentioned that his novel, ''The Book of Dust'', is based on the "extreme danger of putting power into the hands of those who believe in some absolute creed, whether that is Christianity or Islam or Marxism".

Bibliography

Young adult novels

''His Dark Materials'' series

=''His Dark Materials'' trilogy

= # '' Northern Lights'' (retitled ''The Golden Compass'' in the US) (1995) # ''

'' (1997) # ''

'' (2000)

=''The Book of Dust'' trilogy

= # ''

'' (2017) # ''

'' (2019) # Third book (title and publication date TBC)

=Companion books

= * '' Lyra's Oxford'' (2003), novella, set after ''The Amber Spyglass'' * '' Once Upon a Time in the North'' (2008), novella, prequel to ''Northern Lights'' * ''The Collectors'' (2014), short story, set between ''La Belle Sauvage'' and ''Northern Lights'', first published as an audiobook and on Kindle, then hardcover (2022) * '' Serpentine'' (2020), novella, set after ''The Amber Spyglass'' * ''The Imagination Chamber'' (2022), Companion, Scenes from ''His Dark Materials Trilogy''

''Sally Lockhart'' series

# ''

The Ruby in the Smoke ''The Ruby in the Smoke'' (1985) is a novel by the English author Philip Pullman. This book went on to win the 1987 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award. It was also adapted for television in 2006. It is the first of the Sally Lockhart Q ...

'' (1985) # ''

The Shadow in the North ''The Shadow in the North'' ( 1986) is a book by the English author Philip Pullman. It was originally published as ''The Shadow in the Plate''. Plot This second ''Sally Lockhart'' mystery takes place in late 1878, six years after the events of ...

'', first published as ''The Shadow in the Plate'' (1986) # '' The Tiger in the Well'' (1990) # ''

The Tin Princess ''The Tin Princess'' ( 1994) is a young adult novel by the English author Philip Pullman, part of the Sally Lockhart series. Plot introduction Sixteen-year-old Becky is about to have her life changed. A dramatic explosion is only the start of ...

'' (1994)

Stand-alones

* '' How to Be Cool'' (1987) * '' The Broken Bridge'' (1990) * '' The White Mercedes'' (1992), re-issued as '' The Butterfly Tattoo'' (1998)

Children's novels

''The New-Cut Gang'' series

# ''Thunderbolt's Waxwork'' (1994) # ''The Gas-Fitters' Ball'' (1995)

Stand-alones

* '' Count Karlstein'' (1982) * ''

Spring-Heeled Jack Spring-heeled Jack is an entity in English folklore of the Victorian era. The first claimed sighting of Spring-heeled Jack was in 1837. Later sightings were reported all over the United Kingdom and were especially prevalent in suburban Lo ...

'' (1989) * ''

I was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers ''I Was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers'' is a children's novel written by British author Philip Pullman. It was published in 1999. Plot One evening, at the home of the cobbler old Bob and his washerwoman wife Joan, there is a knock at the door. ...

'' (1999) * '' The Scarecrow and his Servant'' (2004)

Other novels

* '' The Haunted Storm'' (1972) * ''Galatea'' (1976) * ''

'' (2010), novella, part of the ''Canongate Myth'' series

Children's short stories

Collections: * ''Fairy Tales From The Brothers Grimm'' (2012), collection of 50 short stories Uncollected short stories: * '' Clockwork, or All Wound Up'' (1995), novella * '' The Firework-Maker's Daughter'' (1995), novella

Picture books

* ''The Wonderful Story of Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp'' (1993) * ''

Mossycoat "Mossycoat" is a fairy tale published by Katherine M. Briggs and Ruth Tongue in ''Folktales of England''. Carter, Angela. ''The Old Wives' Fairy Tale Book'' New York: Pantheon Books, 1990. pp. 48-56. . It appears in ''A Book of British Fairy Tale ...

'' (1998) * ''Puss in Boots: The Adventures of That Most Enterprising Feline'' (2000)

Comics

* ''The Adventures of John Blake'' (2008), in '' The DFC'' and '' The Phoenix'' Mystery of the Ghost Ship storyline collected by David Fickling Books and in hardcover by Scholastic Inc.

Plays

* ''Frankenstein'' (1990) * ''Sherlock Holmes and the Limehouse Horror'' (1992)

Non-fiction

* ''Ancient Civilizations'' (1978), history * ''Using the Oxford Junior Dictionary'' (1978), guide * ''Daemon Voices: Essays on Storytelling'' (2017), essays

Adaptations

Screen adaptations

* A TV mini-series, ''

I Was a Rat ''I Was a Rat'' is a children's drama television series broadcast on BBC One from 9 to 23 December 2001, based on the popular 1999 children's novel '' I Was a Rat! or The Scarlet Slippers'' by Philip Pullman. It was aired in the Sunday tea-time sl ...

'', was produced by the

...
and aired in three one-hour instalments in 2001. * A film adaptation of '' The Butterfly Tattoo'' finished principal photography on 30 September 2007. ''The Butterfly Tattoo'' is a project, supported by Philip Pullman, to allow young artists a chance to gain experience in the film industry. The film is produced by the Dutch production company Dynamic Entertainment. * A co-produced

...
and WGBH Boston television adaptation of ''

'', starring

Billie Piper Billie Paul Piper (born Leian Paul Piper; 22 September 1982) is an English actress and former singer. She initially gained recognition as a singer after releasing her debut single "Because We Want To" at age 15, which made her the youngest woman ...

and

Julie Walters Dame Julia Mary Walters (born 22 February 1950), known professionally as Julie Walters, is an English actress. She is the recipient of four British Academy Television Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, two International Emmy Awards, a B ...

, was screened in the UK on BBC One on 27 December 2006, and broadcast on PBS Masterpiece Theatre in America on 4 February 2007. The television adaptation of the second book in the series, ''

'', aired on the

...
on 26 December 2007. The

...
and WGBH announced plans to adapt the next two

Sally Lockhart Veronica Beatrice "Sally" Lockhart (later Goldberg) is a fictional character in a series of books by Philip Pullman. Sally Lockhart is a dazzling 16-year-old, middle-class orphan whose father taught her a variety of useful things: accounting, mar ...

novels, '' The Tiger in the Well'' and ''

'', for television as well; however, since ''The Shadow in the North'' aired in 2007, no information has arisen regarding an adaptation of ''The Tiger in the Well''. * A film adaptation of '' Northern Lights'', titled ''

'', was released in December 2007 by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

, starring

Dakota Blue Richards Dakota Blue Richards (born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her film debut at the age of 13 was in '' The Golden Compass'', as the lead character Lyra Belacqua. Other lead roles include the wayward teenager April in ''Dustbin Baby'' and M ...

as Lyra, along with

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Eva Green Eva Gaëlle Green (, ; born ) is a French actress and model. The daughter of actress Marlène Jobert, she began her career in theatre before making her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's '' The Dreamers'' (2003). She achieved international reco ...

Sam Elliott Samuel Pack Elliott (born August 9, 1944) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Board of Review Award, and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Aw ...

and Ian McKellen. * ''

'' TV series was produced by the

...
and HBO, broadcast began on

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, ...

on 3 November 2019.

Other adaptations

* London's Royal National Theatre staged a two-part theatrical version of ''His Dark Materials'' in December 2003. The same adaptation has since been staged by several other theatres in the UK and elsewhere. *''His Dark Materials'' has also been adapted for radio, CD and unabridged audiobook; the unabridged audiobooks were narrated by the author. * ''The Ruby In The Smoke'' was adapted for the stage by Reprint (now Escapade) Productions. The adaptation was written and directed by Madeleine Perham, and toured the UK in 2016, including a run at the Edinburgh Festival, finishing at the Brighton Fringe in 2017. *''The Firework-Maker's Daughter'' was adapted into an opera, with music by David Bruce and a libretto by

Glyn Maxwell Glyn Maxwell (born 1962) is a British poet, playwright, novelist, librettist, and lecturer. Early life Of primarily Welsh heritage — his mother Buddug-Mair Powell (b. 1928) acted in the original stage show of Dylan Thomas's ''Under Milk Wood'' ...

. The production was premiered by the Opera Group in the UK in 2013. Pullman wrote of the opera that it was "one of the best treatments a story of is hadever received."

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pullman, Philip 1946 births 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Academics of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award winners Audiobook narrators British atheism activists British Book Award winners British secularists Carnegie Medal in Literature winners Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Critics of religions Critics of the Catholic Church English agnostics English atheists English children's writers English fantasy writers English humanists English male novelists Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners Knights Bachelor Living people People associated with Bangor University Writers from Norwich Philosophers of culture Philosophers of religion Writers from Oxford Presidents of the Society of Authors British republicans

Life and career

''His Dark Materials''

Campaigns and views

Views on fantasy

Views on children's literature

Monarchy

Age and gender labelling of books

Civil liberties

Public jury

Library closures

Ebook library loans

William Blake's cottage and memorial stone

Fees for guest authors at book festivals

Boycott of Brexit 50p coin

Perspective on religion

Bibliography

Young adult novels

''His Dark Materials'' series

=''His Dark Materials'' trilogy

=''The Book of Dust'' trilogy

=Companion books

''Sally Lockhart'' series

Stand-alones

Children's novels

''The New-Cut Gang'' series

Stand-alones

Other novels

Children's short stories

Picture books

Comics

Plays

Non-fiction

Adaptations

Screen adaptations

Other adaptations

Notes

References

Further reading

External links