Ann Schlee
FRSL
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, elec ...
(born 1934) is an
English
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* English people
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novelist. She won the annual
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 ...
for ''The Vandal'' (1979), a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.
[ She was elected Fellow of the ]Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, the RSL has about 600 Fellows, ele ...
in 1997.
Early years and education
As a child, Ann Schlee was brought up in the United States by her mother and grandparents until the end of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. Afterward she began to settle in Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...
, Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
, with her parents. They later moved to Sudan and Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
. ''Inter alia'' she attended boarding school in England and later studied at Somerville College
Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...
, Oxford
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 the Un ...
.
Career
Schlee has spent much of her writing career in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
being quite active in the 1970s to the 1990s.
Awards and honours
''The Vandal'' (Macmillan, 1980) is a science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...
novel set in the future. Beside winning the 1980 Guardian 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 ...
[ it was a commended runner up for the Carnegie Medal from the ]Library Association
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 ...
, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.[
''Rhine Journey'' (]Henry Holt & Co
Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...
, 1981, ) was shortlisted for the 1981 Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
, recognising the year's best novel.
Personal life
Ann Schlee lives with her husband, the artist Nick Schlee
Nick Schlee (born 1931) is a British artist. He mainly produces landscape paintings.
Life and work
Schlee was born in Weybridge, Surrey. In 1947, he won Gold and Silver medals for under 18s from the Royal Drawing Society. He Matriculation, m ...
, in Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Be ...
. They have four children.
Selected works
Schlee has written a number of books including:Ann Schlee
Amazon.co.uk
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.
* ''The Strangers'' (1971)
* ''The Consul's Daughter'' (1972)
* ''Guns of Darkness'' (1973)
* ''Ask Me No Questions'' (1979)
* ''The Vandal'' (Macmillan
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* Clan MacMillan, a Highland Scottish clan
* Harold Macmillan, British statesman and politician
* James MacMillan, Scottish composer
* William Duncan MacMillan ...
, 1980)
* ''Rhine Journey'' (Henry Holt & Co
Henry Holt and Company is an American book-publishing company based in New York City. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt. Currently, the company publishes in the fields ...
, 1981)
* ''The Proprietor'' (1983)
* ''Laing'' (1987)
* ''The Proprietor'' (1996)
* ''The Time in Aderra'' (Macmillan, 1998)
See also
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlee, Ann
1934 births
Living people
Place of birth missing (living people)
Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford
English women novelists
English children's writers
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners
Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature