Celia Rees (born 17 June 1949) is an English author. Celia Rees was born in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

, West Midlands and attended Tudor Grange Grammar School for Girls. She studied

History History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

Politics Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with decision-making, making decisions in social group, groups, or other forms of power (social and political), power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of Social sta ...

Warwick University The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded in 1965 as part of a ...

and has a PGCE and a master's degree in Education from

Birmingham University The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. She became a teacher after leaving university and taught English in comprehensive schools in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

for sixteen years and this is when she began to write. Her intention was to ‘write for teenagers, books that they would want to read, almost adult in style and content.’ She left teaching in 1989. After working part-time in

Further Education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It ...

and as an Open Studies Lecturer for

, she became a full-time writer in 1997. Celia is a regular tutor for the Arvon Foundation, is a member 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. Membership of the society is open to "anyon ...

, and has been

Chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the Children's Writers and Illustrators Group. She is a member of the Scattered Authors Society and a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the English Association. Celia lives with her husband, Terence Rees in

Leamington Spa Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or simply LeamingtonEven more colloquially, also referred to as Lem or Leam (). (), is a spa town and civil parish in Warwickshire, England. Originally a small village called Leamington Pri ...

. She has one daughter, Catrin, who is a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Writing

Celia Rees writes mainly for young adults and has written across a range of genre from thrillers, including her first novel, ''Every Step You Take'' (1993) to ''This Is Not Forgiveness'' (2012) to gothic and

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is an umbrella term, umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from Realism (arts), realism, or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural, futuristic, or ...

, beginning with the

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

novel, ''Blood Sinister'' (1996)) and ending (for the time being) with ''The Stone Testament'' (2007). She is perhaps best known for her

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...

. '' Witch Child'' (2000) was

shortlisted A short list or shortlist is a list of candidates for a job, prize, award, political position, etc., that has been reduced from a longer list of candidates (sometimes via intermediate lists known as "long lists"). The length of short lists varie ...

for the

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

(2001) and won the Prix Sorcières in France (2003). The sequel, ''Sorceress'' (2002), was shortlisted for the Whitbread (Costa) Children's Book Award; and ''Pirates!'' (2003) was shortlisted for the W.H. Smith Children's Book Award. ''Sovay'' followed in 2008 and ''The Fool’s Girl'' in 2010 Celia Rees's novels have been translated into 28 languages. Her books for younger readers include ''The Bailey Game'' (1994) and the ''Trap in Time Trilogy'' (2001/2).

List of works

* ''Every Step You Take'' (1993) * ''The Bailey Game'' (1994) * ''Colour her Dead'' (1994) * ''Blood Sinister'' (1996) *Anthologized with other Point Horror in ''Decayed'' (2001) * ''Midnight Hour'' (1997) * ''Ghost Chamber'' (1997) * ''The Vanished'' (1997) * ''H Is for Haunting'' (1998) * ''A Is for Apparition'' (1998) * ''U Is for Unbeliever'' (1998) * ''N Is for Nightmare'' (1998) * ''T Is for Terror'' (1998) * ''S Is for Shudder'' (1998) * ''Soul Taker'' (1998) * ''Truth or Dare'' (2000) * ''The Cunning Man'' (2000) * '' Witch Child'' (2000) * Trap in Time Trilogy: ''Trap in Time'' (2001), ''City of Shadows'' (2002), and ''The Host Rides Out'' (2002) * ''Sorceress'' (2002) * ''Pirates!'' (2003) * ''Wish House'' (2005) * ''Stone Testament'' (2007) * ''Sovay'' (2008) * ''The Fool’s Girl'' (2011) * ''This Is Not Forgiveness'' (2012) * ''Daughters of Time'' (2014) * ''Glass Town Wars'' (2019)

Notes

References

External links

Official site

Bloomsbury biography

Complete list of works

British Council
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees, Celia 1949 births Living people English fantasy writers English children's writers English horror writers People from Solihull Alumni of the University of Warwick Alumni of the University of Birmingham Fellows of the English Association