Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''

né The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 ...

who is known best for

children's novels Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

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 design ...

'' (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 the

trenches A trench is a type of excavation or depression in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a swale or a bar ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches res ...

of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Morpurgo was the third

Children's Laureate Children's Laureate, now known as the Waterstones Children's Laureate, is a 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 field". The rol ...

, from 2003 to 2005, and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity.

Early life

Morpurgo was born in 1943 in

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, 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, the son of Arthur Stanley Bridge, a lighterage contractor, and hi ...

and actress Kippe Cammaerts (daughter of the 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 boo ...

). Both

RADA The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central Lond ...

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 his mother's family included 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 ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. While Van Bridge was away at war, Kippe Cammaerts met Jack Morpurgo (subsequently

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of American Literature at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

). When Van Bridge returned to England in 1946, Cammaerts obtained a divorce from him and married Jack Morpurgo in 1947. 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television producer and director. He has two younger half siblings, Mark and Kay Morpurgo. Their mother was frail, having suffered a breakdown when she was 19, and grieved the loss of her brother Pieter, who was killed in the war in 1941, for the rest of her life. Morpurgo and his brother were evacuated to Northumberland when they were very young. After they returned to London, the family lived in Philbeach Gardens,

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,

. The family later moved to

Bradwell-on-Sea Bradwell-on-Sea is a village and civil parish in Essex, England; it is on the Dengie peninsula. It is located north-north-east of Southminster and is east of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the District of Maldon and in th ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, where Morpurgo would live during the school holidays, having been sent to a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

when he was seven years old. The school was very strict and the boys were beaten frequently. During this period Morpurgo developed a

stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder characterized externally by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses called blocks in which the person who ...

. 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 Thea ...

''. 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, England. It is to the southeast of East Grinstead, just off the A22 arterial road. In 2001, the population was 1,771, increasing to 1,833 at the 2011 Census. ...

, Morpurgo then went to the King's School, an

independent school A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a State school, public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their fina ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, where he felt less homesick than at his previous school.

Later life

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 CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

version of ''

Great Expectations ''Great Expectations'' is the thirteenth novel by English author Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel. The novel is a bildungsroman and depicts the education of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens' second novel, after ''Dav ...

'' 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 The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academy, military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial Commissioned officer, officer train ...

. He quickly realised that a soldier's life was not for him and left after nine months. He said later that reading the poems of the

poets when he was a young soldier were "part of the reason I left the army and became a teacher and then a writer of many books about war in which a longing for peace and reconciliation is always evident." Morpurgo later went to study at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, reading English, French, and Philosophy, and graduated with a third class degree. He then joined the teaching profession with a job at

Wickhambreaux Wickhambreaux ( ) is a village and civil parish in the City of Canterbury, Canterbury district, in the county of Kent, England. The village is just off the A257 road, A257 Sandwich Road, four miles east of the city of Canterbury. Since Roman ti ...

Primary School A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...

. He also, in 1968, briefly taught at St. Faith's School in Cambridge.

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 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 writers. He wa ...

' ''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 pictures. ...

'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. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

's ''

The Old Man and the Sea ''The Old Man and the Sea'' is a 1952 novella by the American author Ernest Hemingway. Written between December 1950 and February 1951, it was the last major fictional work Hemingway published during his lifetime. It tells the story of Santiag ...

''."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

Morpurgo is the author of dozens of books, including the notable titles: *'' Friend or Foe'' (1977) * ''All Around the Year'' (with

) (1979) * '' The Nine Lives of Montezuma'' (1980) * ''

'' (1982) * '' Little Foxes'' (1984) * ''

Why the Whales Came ''Why the Whales Came'' is a British children's story written by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in 1985 in the United Kingdom by William Heinemann, and by Scholastic in the United States. It is set on the island of Bryher, one of th ...

'' (1985) * '' King of the Cloud Forests'' (1987) * ''Mossop's Last Chance'' (with Shoo Rayner) (1988) *''

My Friend Walter ''My Friend Walter'' is a children's fiction novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by William Heinemann in 1988. The book was shortlisted for the 1989 Smarties Prize. Plot This book follows a girl called Bess who go ...

'' (1988) * '' Waiting for Anya'' (1990) * ''

The Wreck of the Zanzibar ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The' ...

'' (1995) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

Farm Boy Farm Boy Inc. is a Canadian specialty food retailer operating in the province of Ontario. The company is based in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2018, the company is majority owned by the Sobeys grocery chain's parent company, Empire Company Ltd., Empi ...

'' (1997) * '' Kensuke's Kingdom'' (1999) * ''

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

'' (2000) * '' The Sleeping Sword'' (2002) * ''

Private Peaceful ''Private Peaceful'' is a novel for older children by British author Michael Morpurgo first published in 2003. It is about a fictional young soldier called Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful, who is looking back on his life so far and his going to war. ...

'' (2003) * ''

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English alliterative verse. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot comb ...

'' (2004) * ''The Orchard Book of Aesop's Fables'' (2004), illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark * ''War: Stories of Conflict'' (compiler) (2005) * ''Meeting Cezanne'' (2005) * ''

The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' ...

'' (2005) * '' Alone on a Wide Wide Sea'' (2006) * ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

'' (2006), illustrated by Michael Foreman * ''Born to Run'' (2007) * '' Running Wild'' (2009) * ''The Kites Are Flying!'' (2009) * ''Not Bad for a Bad Lad'' (2010) * ''

An Elephant in the Garden ''An Elephant in the Garden'' is a British children's novel written by Michael Morpurgo, and illustrated by Michael Foreman. It was originally published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins, and released in May 2010. The book is based on act ...

'' (2010) * ''Shadow'' (2010) * '' Little Manfred'' (2011) * ''

The Pied Piper of Hamelin The Pied Piper of Hamelin (, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to the Middle Ages. The earliest refer ...

'' (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 ''Listen to the Moon'' is a British children's novel written by Michael Morpurgo. It was originally published in Great Britain by HarperCollins in September 2014, to coincide with the centenary commemorations of World War I, in which the novel' ...

'' (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) * ''Cobweb'' (2024)

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), ''

'' (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 child ...

'' (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 Indian-born British actress, presenter, author, television producer, activist and former model. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom ''Absolutely Fabulo ...

. This was subsequently presented as a ballet by the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain in August 2010. ''

'' has been adapted as a radio broadcast and as a

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

Nick Stafford Nick Stafford (born Nicholas Thomas, 1959 in Staffordshire) is a British playwright and writer. He is best known for writing the stage adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's novel '' War Horse'', which garnered him a Laurence Olivier Award nominati ...

, premiering at the

National Theatre, London The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...

, 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 South African puppetry performance and design company. It was established in 1981 by Adrian Kohler, Basil Jones, Jon Weinberg, and Jill Joubert, and is based in Cape Town, South Africa. History Jones and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It won two

Olivier Awards The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

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 the 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 occupied the site until 1965. On ...

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 Stre ...

at the

Vivian Beaumont Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT ...

. The play's Broadway production won five

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

, 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 British screenwriter, producer and director. One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters, he is known for romantic comedy-drama films, including ''Four Weddings and a Funeral' ...

as a British

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

directed by

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

. The film was nominated numerous awards, including six

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

and five

BAFTA Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best Cinema of the United Kingdom, British and Worl ...

. '' Waiting for Anya'' was adapted as a film of the same title released in 2020. '' Kensuke's Kingdom'', following a fictionalised version of Morpurgo himself stranded on a

desert island An uninhabited island, desert island, or deserted island, is an island, islet or atoll which lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes ...

as a child, was adapted as a film of the same title first released in 2023 and widely released in 2024, with Aaron MacGregor voicing a young Michael, and

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress of stage and screen. She began her career on stage and then moved into film, for which she has received several accolades including a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominatio ...

and

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy ( ; born 25 May 1976) is an Irish actor. His works encompass both stage and screen, and his accolades include an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He made his professional debut in Enda Walsh's 1996 pl ...

voicing his parents.

Reception and influence

Morpurgo has thirty books on the HarperCollins list and has sold more than 35 million books worldwide. ''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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' described ''Private Peaceful'', Morpurgo's 2003 novel for older children, as a "humanising and humane work".

Children's Laureate

Morpurgo and Ted Hughes, then Poet Laureate, originated the idea of the

role, and Morpurgo later 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: ''

'' *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 and 2000. The awards were managed by reading charity ...

: The Book I Couldn't Put Down: ''Cool!'' *2003 Carnegie Medal: ''

'' *2004 Whitbread Children's Book Award: ''

'' * 2009

Sydney Taylor Book Award The Sydney Taylor Book Award recognizes the best in Jewish children's literature. Medals are awarded annually for outstanding books that authentically portray the Jewish experience. The award was established in 1968 by the Association of Jewish L ...

Notable title for Older Readers: ''The Mozart Question'' *2012 Bippo award for books *2010

Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis The (German Youth Literature Award) is an annual award established in 1956 by the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth to recognise outstanding works of children's and young adult literature. It is Germany's only ...

''(German youth literature prize)'': ''Warten auf Anya'' ''( Waiting for Anya)'' *2014 Costa Children's Book Award: ''Listen to the Moon'' ;Awarded *1993

Prix Sorcières The Prix Sorcières () is an annual literary prize awarded in France since 1986 to works of children's literature in a number of categories. The categories were renamed in 2018. The prizewinners are decided jointly by the ALSJ (''Association des L ...

(France): ''King of the Cloud Forests'' *1995 Whitbread Children's Book Award: ''

'' *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 r ...

(Gold Award): ''

'' *1999 Prix Sorcières (France): ''Wombat Goes Walkabout'' *2000

Red House Children's Book Award The Children's Book Award is a British literary award for children's books, run by the Federation of Children's Book Groups and previously known as the Red House Children's Book Award. Books published in the U.K. during the preceding calendar yea ...

: ''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: ''

'' *2005 Blue Peter Book of the Year Award: ''

'' *2005 Hampshire Book Award: ''

'' *2008

California Young Reader Medal The California Young Reader Medal is a set of five annual literary awards conferred upon picture books A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily ...

: ''

'' *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 The Chen Bochui Children's Literature Award (陈伯吹儿童文学奖) is a major award issued in China, with the aim of promoting excellence in children's publishing and cultural diversity. It was originally called the Children's Literary Garden Pr ...

(China) – best author

Personal life

In 1963, aged 19, Morpurgo married Clare Lane, eldest daughter of

Allen Lane Sir Allen Lane (born Allen Lane Williams; 21 September 1902 – 7 July 1970) was a British publisher who together with his brothers Richard and John Lane founded Penguin Books in 1935, bringing high-quality paperback fiction and non-fictio ...

, the founder of

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, 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 ...

. They had met the previous year on holiday in Corfu through Morpurgo's stepfather, who was an editor at Penguin at the time. Lane was pregnant with their first child and Morpurgo has referred to it as a

shotgun wedding A shotgun wedding is a wedding arranged in response to pregnancy resulting from premarital sex. The phrase comes from the figurative imagining that the relatives of the pregnant bride threaten the reluctant male groom with a shotgun in order to ...

. Their three children are all named after Shakespearian characters. His mother died in London in 1993. Morpurgo was diagnosed with

laryngeal cancer Laryngeal cancer is a kind of cancer that can develop in any part of the larynx (voice box). It is typically a squamous-cell carcinoma, reflecting its origin from the epithelium of the larynx. The prognosis is affected by the location of the tumo ...

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,

. 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 ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. Morpurgo has referred to the charity as his greatest achievement in life.

Political views

In a January 2014 article, Morpurgo stated "as we begin to mark the century 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, red poppy, and Odai, is an annual herbaceous species of flowering plant in the poppy family Papaveraceae. It is native to north Afr ...

and the

white poppy Artificial poppies placed as cenotaph.html" ;"title="Anzac Day tributes on a cenotaph">Anzac Day tributes on a cenotaph in New Zealand; mostly ''Papaver rhoeas'' marketed by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, with a lone Whi ...

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 ''

'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's referendum on that issue. Prior to the 2015 general election, Morpurgo endorsed the parliamentary candidacy of the

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as environmentalism and social justice. Green party platforms typically embrace Social democracy, social democratic economic policies and fo ...

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who was the leader of the Green Party of England and Wales from 2003 to 2006, 2007 to 2012, and 2016 to 2018. She was Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parli ...

. 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 The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...

, Morpurgo expressed his support for the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

in an interview with the

, 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. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

A Point of View A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient G ...

'' interview on 5 August 2018.

Honours and appointments

Morpurgo and his wife Clare were each appointed

Members of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

1999 Birthday Honours The 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday were announced on 7 June 1999 in New Zealand and Niue, and on 12 June 1999 in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. The recipients of honours are displayed h ...

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.Saint Lucia list: Antigua & Barbuda list: The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before t ...

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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

2018 New Year Honours The 2018 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...

for services to literature and charity. In 2012, Morpurgo was made an Honorary Graduate of the

University of Suffolk The University of Suffolk is a public university situated in Suffolk and Norfolk, England. The university was established in 2007 as University Campus Suffolk (UCS), founded as a collaboration between the University of East Anglia and the Unive ...

. 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 ...

Bishop Grosseteste University Bishop Grosseteste University (BGU) is a public university in the city of Lincoln, England. BGU was established as a teacher training college for the Diocese of Lincoln in 1862. It gained taught degree awarding powers in 2012, applied for ful ...

on 17 July 2013. He was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the

University of Chichester The University of Chichester is a public university located in West Sussex, England, which became a university in 2005. Campuses are based in the city of Chichester and the nearby coastal resort of Bognor Regis and an associate campus for comm ...

in 2014. He was awarded the honorary degree of

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(D.Litt.) by

Newcastle University Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick university and a mem ...

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. On 9 November 2023 Morpurgo was awarded an

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

, after writing almost all of his 150 books in the county of

Radio and television broadcasts

*''The Invention of Childhood'' (2006) (with Hugh Cunningham),

*''Set Our Children Free'': the 2011 Richard Dimbleby Lecture.

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

, 15 February 2011. *" Alone on a Wide Wide Sea":

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

, 7–10 August 2017

Biographies

* * * *

References

External links

* * (old version)
Michael Morpurgo
at publisher

Egmont Books The Egmont Group (officially Egmont International Holding A/S; known as Gutenberghus Group until 1992) is a Danish media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark. The business area of Egmont has traditionally been magazine publishi ...

* *
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 London 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 Writers from St Albans