Kate Cann (born 1954) is an English author of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

Biography

Cann wrote stories and diaries in her youth. She received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in English from the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

in 1977, then a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in American Literature from the same university in 1978. In the 1980s, Cann began work as a copy-editor for the publishing house, Time Life Books. When working on a piece of

young adult fiction Young adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality. It is characterized by simpler world build ...

, she decided she could write a better work. Later in life, she recalled, "got bitten by the 'I can do better than this' bug, and started writing... it took me over". Once ''Diving In'' (1983?) was published, she began writing full-time. Kate Cann resides in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

Sources and themes

Cann kept a diary from which she drew from experiences. By the time she "ran out of material from my diaries and memories, I realised that my daughter and son were teenagers, and started eavesdropping on them and their friends". A prime motivator of her writing was the way "teenage books...treated sexual relationships: they were either full of gloom and doom, or were gushy, unrealistic candyfloss". Kate offers by contrast a certain

verismo In opera, , from , meaning 'true', was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an operatic ge ...

: "I focus on the real things that don't change - like love and anger and happiness and jealousy". A secondary, but almost equally important theme in her work is the struggle against the (often subtly) controlling figure. This may be a boyfriend who is 'a

control freak Control freak is a colloquialism for a person who feels a psychological need to constantly be in charge of things and people around them. A control freak can become distressed when they feel things are going out of control. The feel of the need ...

. Scared to let us have differences'; a "Best Friend" for imitation - 'I flattered her, I...mirrored her and buoyed her up'; or a parent like the heroine's mother in ''Hard Cash'': 'A real living breathing human vampire. She's feeding off you...turning on the

emotional blackmail The term emotional blackmail was popularized by psychotherapist Susan Forward about controlling people in relationships and the theory that fear, obligation and guilt (FOG) are the transactional dynamics at play between the controller and the pe ...

at full power'. Alternatively, the controlling force - "''denying the separateness of the other''" - may be a group cult, whether a formal one (''Speeding'') or an informal

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture, cultural society that differentiates itself from the values of the conservative, standard or dominant culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures ...

, like the hero's 'bond to the team...their triumphant, tribal energy' in ''Leader of the Pack''. Such controlling powers may be seen as externalisations of the adolescent's quest for identity achievement, in the face of both inner and outer obstacles. Cann's protagonists, under both social and sexual pressures, regularly face the alternative peril of identity diffusion: 'You're not you any longer, you're what he wants you to be. A shadow person, a non-person, no centre, no wholeness. Just a limp hotchpotch of what someone else once wanted you to be'. Despite such dangers, Cann's own predilection remains nonetheless firmly for engagement with life, or "diving in". Even when her heroes do temporarily trade in their own identities for an externally formulated one, whether "a dream of money" or a social group, "the team and everything," the books typically conclude with phrases such as, "Well, I don't wish it hadn't happened," or "I'm glad I was part of it. It's part of me now... and I'm glad about that too".Kate Cann, ''Leader of the Pack'' (London 2008) p. 329

Awards and honours

Publications

Young adult fiction

* ''Caught in the Act'' (1997) * ''Too Hot to Handle'' (1997) * ''Breaking Up'' (2001) * ''Shop Dead'' (2001) * ''Text Game'' (2004) * '' Leaving Poppy'' (2006) * ''Leader of the Pack'' (2008) * ''Witch Crag'' (2012)

Art & Coll series

* ''Diving In'' (1996) * ''In the Deep End'' (1997) * ''Sink or Swim'' (2001) * ''Art History'' (2009)

Beach series

* ''Grecian Holiday: Or, How I Turned Down the Best Possible Thing Only to Have the Time of My Life'' (1999) * ''Spanish Holiday: Or, How I Transformed the Worst Vacation Ever into the Best Summer of My Life'' (2001) * ''California Holiday: Or, How the World's Worst Summer Job Gave Me a Great New Life'' (2003) * ''Mediterranean Holiday: Or, How I Moved to a Tiny Island and Found the Love of My Life'' (2007)

Crow Girl series

* ''Crow Girl'' (2005) * ''Crow Girl Returns'' (2006) * ''Crow Girl Rises'' (2012)

Hard Cash trilogy

* ''Hard Cash'' (2001) * ''Shacked Up'' (2001) * ''Speeding'' (2004)

Rayne books

* ''Possessed'' (2008) * ''Consumed'' (2009)

Young adult non-fiction

*''Living in the World'', illustrated by Derek Matthews (1996)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cann, Kate 1954 births Living people 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Alumni of the University of Kent English women novelists British writers of young adult literature British women writers of young adult literature 21st-century English women writers 20th-century English women writers