Philip Pullman biography

Philip Pullman was born on the 19th October, 1946 in Norwich, England. Pullman is best known for the series of books entitled His Dark Materials, the award winning children’s literature consisting of Northern Lights, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass.

Philip Pullman was seven years old when Flight Lieutenant Alfred Pullman of the RAF died in his aircraft in Kenya, in February 1954. Soon afterwards, he was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Pullman spent his early years following his father to numerous postings around the world. It was on a boat to South Africa in 1951 that he was first taught to read, an event that opened up all the possibilities to come. His mother married again just a year after his father died. After a spell in Australia, which left an enduring mark on his accent, Pullman was educated in London and Harlech, Wales. He still sends copies of his books to his old English teacher Enid Jones. After taking a third-class degree at Oxford, he worked as a teacher and married Judith Speller in 1970. They have two sons, who are now grown up.

Philip Pullman’s first published work was a book entitled The Haunted Storm, written in 1972. It was in 1993 when the began the writing of His Dark Materials, a fantasy trilogy for young adults that was completed with the publication of The Amber Spyglass in the year 2000.

Philip Pullman caused controversy amongst many religious groups with the content of His Dark Materials. Many saw the books as anti-religion and also claimed that they were written to be a slap in the face to C.S. Lewis and his Narnia Chronicles. This speculation has been further fueled by Pullman himself when, on occasions, he has been openly critical of C.S. Lewis’ works, labeling it “religious propaganda”. Recently, and surprisingly, Pullman’s work has gained support from the Church itself with The Archbishop of Canterbury claiming that the books were an attack on dogmatism and suggesting they be used as part of religious education lessons in schools.

Although His Dark Materials is categorised within the fantasy genre Pullman also believes that they should be classed as stark realism.

Philip Pullman was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours list in 2004.

Philip Pullman awards

• The Haunted Storm – winner of the New English Library's Young Writer's Award in 1972
• Northern Lights – winner of the Carnegie Award in 1995
• The Amber Spyglass – winner of the Whitbread Prize in 2002

Philip Pullman books

• The Haunted Storm (1972)
• Galatea (1976)
• Count Karlstein (1982)
• The Ruby in the Smoke - Sally Lockhart (1985)
• The Shadow in the North - Sally Lockhart (1986)
• How to be Cool (1987)
• Spring-Heeled Jack (1989)
• The Tiger in the Well - Sally Lockhart (1990)
• The Broken Bridge (1990)
• The White Mercedes (1992)
• The Wonderful Story of Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp (1993)
• The Tin Princess - Sally Lockhart (1994)
• Thunderbolt's Waxwork - The New-Cut Gang (1994)
• The Gasfitter's Ball - The New-Cut Gang (1995)
• Northern Lights - His Dark Materials (1995)
• Clockwork (1995)
• The Firework-Maker's Daughter (1995)
• The Subtle Knife - His Dark Materials (1997)
• Mossycoat (1998)
• The Butterfly Tattoo (1998)
• I was a Rat! (1999)
• The Amber Spyglass - His Dark Materials (2000)
• Puss in Boots: The Adventures of That Most Enterprising Feline (2000)
• The Scarecrow and his Servant (2004)
• Lyra's Oxford (2007)
• Once Upon a Time in the North (2008)

Latest news: Philip Pullman

Fantasy news round-up – March 3, 2010
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The ins and outs of the Google Book Settlement
The families of John Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie have decided to opt in to the revised Google Book Search settlement. Gail Steinbeck, who initially opposed the settlement and Arlo Guthrie, said they would not bring a separate lawsuit against Google. Ms. Steinbeck is the wife of the late John Steinbe [...]

Random House Children’s Books running story competition
Random House Children's Books have teamed up with The Unicorn Theatre and The London Eye to launch a competition to mark the stage première of Siobhan Dowd’s award-winning children’s book, The London Eye Mystery, from March this year. About The London Eye Mystery When Ted and Kat watched their c [...]

Tesco in talks with Philip Pullman over possible film adaptations
Supermarket giant Tesco has joined forces with new media firm Amber Productions to create DVD feature films based on books. Under the joint venture DVDs will be initially available exclusively through Tesco stores, online and through Tesco Direct. Tesco will focus solely on marketing and sales of th [...]

More names confirmed for The Oxford Literary Festival
Saturday, March 20 is the date of this year’s Sunday Times Oxford Literary festival and more names ave been confirmed, adding to an already impressive line-up that includes John le Carré, Martin Amis, Hilary Mantel and Philip Pullman. Here are the new names: Gaynor Arnold Malorie Blackman Frank Co [...]

One for your diary: The Sunday Times Oxford Literary festival
Saturday, March 20 is the date of this year's Sunday Times Oxford Literary festival. It really is a  must-attend event for book lovers with organisers delighted with the quality of the line-up they have assembled. John le Carré will give a lecture within the Sheldonian Theatre, and other big na [...]

Round-up: JA Rowling, Bath-time for Pullman and Le Guin not finished yet
A round-up of fantasy news around the world. A rare JK Rowling uncorrected proof sells for £1,600 An uncorrected proof edition of JK Rowling’s very first Harry Potter book has been sold for £1600 at auction. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, attributed to JA Rowling was bought by a co [...]

Canadian books that made a difference over the past decade
Indigo Books & Music Inc. have revealed the 75 books that most impacted booklovers during the past ten years in the Canadian retailer's first Best of the Decade List. Compiled, considered and debated by the dedicated team of Indigo book buyers who have read, reviewed, recommended and bought a st [...]

Judging Panel announced for 2009 Costa Book of the Year
Novelist Josephine Hart will chair the final judging which selects the overall winner of the prestigious 2009 Costa Book of the Year, it was announced today. The Costa Book Awards recognise the most enjoyable books of the last year by writers based in the UK and Ireland. Josephine will chair a pane [...]

Philip Pullman interviews

An interview from 2000 with Powells.com. Light-hearted and enjoyable, the interviewer obviously loved the authors works. Philip Pullman interview with Powells.com >>

Read this great interview, conducted by SCOTLANDonSUNDAY by clicking on the following link: http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/features/Philip-Pullman-interview-.5204531.jp

The award-wining author of His Dark Materials discusses judging Off by Heart, the BBC's national poetry recitation competition for primary schoolchildren. Read the entire interview here.