Alice Kuipers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alice Kuipers
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Kuipers in 2013
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| Born | 29 June 1979 London, United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom, Canada |
| Alma mater | University of Manchester |
| Period | 2007–present |
| Genres | Young adult, children's |
| Notable works | Life on the Refrigerator Door, 40 Things I Want To Tell You, The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost For Words in the U.S.), The Death of Us, Me (and) Me |
| Partner | Yann Martel (2002–present) |
| Children | 4 |
Alice Kuipers (born on June 29, 1979) is a British author. She lives in Saskatchewan, Canada. She is well-known for her books for young adults.
Her book Life on the Refrigerator Door won several awards. These include the Grand Prix de Viarmes and the Redbridge Teenage Book Award in 2008. It also won the Saskatchewan First Book Award in 2007. Famous actors Amanda Seyfried and Dana Delany narrated it as an audiobook. The story has also been made into plays in England, France, and Japan.
Another book, 40 Things I Want To Tell You, won a Saskatchewan Book Award in 2013. Her novel The Worst Thing She Ever Did (called Lost For Words in the U.S.) won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book in 2011.
Contents
Early Life and Adventures
Alice Kuipers was born in London, England. She was the first of three children. Her family has Dutch and English roots. She went to the Westminster School in London. Later, she studied psychology at Manchester University. She also earned a master's degree in writing from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Her mother is a professor of psychology in London. Her father advises the government on justice systems.
When she was eighteen, Alice traveled alone for a year. She visited places like the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Cambodia, Australia, Vietnam, and the U.S. She has said this trip greatly influenced her writing. She learned not to worry if she took a wrong turn. She believed something good would come from any path she chose.
In 2003, Kuipers moved to Saskatchewan, Canada. She lives in Saskatoon with her husband, writer Yann Martel. They have four young children.
Writing Career
Alice Kuipers' first book for young adults was Life on the Refrigerator Door. It came out in 2007. This book was sold in twenty-eight countries. It won the Saskatchewan First Book Award and the Grand Prix de Viarmes. It was also considered for the Carnegie Medal.
The audiobook version of Life on the Refrigerator Door was narrated by Amanda Seyfried and Dana Delany. The story was turned into a play. It was performed in London, England, in 2014 and in Paris, France, in 2016. The book tells a story through notes and sticky pads. These are written by a mother to her fifteen-year-old daughter during a family crisis.
In 2010, Kuipers published her second young adult novel, The Worst Thing She Ever Did. It was called Lost For Words in the U.S. This book was sold in nine countries. It won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book in 2011. This novel is about facing difficult events from the past. It is set in London, England.
40 Things I Want To Tell You was published in 2012. Rights for this book were sold in Germany, Greece, Denmark, and Croatia. It won a Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature in 2013. This novel is about a teenage girl who writes an online advice column. However, she finds it hard to follow her own good advice.
In 2014, Alice Kuipers released three books. The Death of Us is a young adult novel. It's a coming-of-age story about two girls in a car accident. She also published The Best Ever Bookworm Book, by Violet and Victor Small. This is a children's book with pictures by Bethanie Murguia. An interactive ebook called Lost and Curious Things also came out.
In 2015, Kuipers' short story, Ten Minutes, was released. It tells a powerful story of a young woman finding herself. In 2016, two more books by Kuipers were published. These were Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale, again with Bethanie Murguia, and Secrets of the Badlands, an interactive ebook. In 2017, Kuipers released another young adult novel, Me (and) Me. It's about a rising rock star who has to make a tough choice. This choice splits her world into two different lives.
Kuipers has also written non-fiction articles. These have appeared in Easy Living Magazine and the Sunday Telegraph. She has also written for younger children.
Since 1999, Kuipers has led writing workshops. She has taught in Hong Kong, the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US. She has also been a speaker and workshop leader at many literary festivals. These include the Montreal Blue Met Festival and The Word on the Street Saskatoon.
In 2008, she won the Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor's Artists Award '30 Below' for young artists. In 2010, she was the Writer in Residence for the Saskatoon Public Library. She worked with community groups, taught workshops, and visited schools.
Kuipers also worked with software developer Rich Lowenberg. They created the first Writing Tips App for iPhone. In 2010, this app became the second bestselling educational app in the US and Canada.
Published Books
- Life on the Refrigerator Door (2007)
- "ne t'inquiéte pas pour moi" (2008)
- 'You Today' (Short Story) (2008)
- The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost For Words in the U.S.) (2010)
- Writing Tips App for iPhone (co-written with Rich Lowenberg in 2010)
- 40 Things I Want to Tell You (2012)
- Death of Us (2014)
- The Bookworm Book, by Violet and Victor Small (2014)
- Lost and Curious Things (Interactive eBook) (2014)
- 'Ten Minutes' (Short Story) (2015)
- Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale (2016)
- Secrets of the Badlands (Interactive eBook) (2016)
- Me (and) Me (2017)
Awards and Recognition
- Life on the Refrigerator Door
- A New York Public Library "Book for the Teen Age" (US) 2008
- Winner of the Redbridge Teenage Book Award (UK) 2008
- Winner of the Sheffield Libraries Choice Book Award (UK) 2008
- Winner of the Grand Prix de Viarmes (France) 2008
- Winner of the Prix Livrentête, (France) 2008
- Winner of the Sweyne Park School Year 7 Book Award (UK) 2008
- Winner of the Saskatchewan First Book Award (Canada) 2007
- Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal (literary award) (UK) 2008
- Winner of Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor's Artists Award for young artists '30 Below' in 2008
- 'You Today'
- Shortlisted for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Literary Awards for Short Stories (Canada) 2009
- Writing Tips App for iPhone (co-written)
- Number 2 bestselling app in the Educational Apps Listings in US and Canada in 2010
- The Worst Thing She Ever Did
- Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award, Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book (Canada) 2011
- White Pine Award of the Ontario Library Association, Official Selection, (Canada) 2011
- 40 Things I Want To Tell You
- Winner of the Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature (Canada) 2013
- Young Adult Honour Book for the Canadian Library Association 2013
- The Death of Us
- Nominated for the 2015 SaskEnergy Young Adult Literature Award
- Shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association 2015 Young Adult Book Award
- The Best Ever Bookworm Book, by Violet and Victor Small
- Selected as an Amazon Best Pick for December 2014
- Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale
- Part of the Winter 2015 Kids' Indie Next List
Stage Adaptations
Life on the Refrigerator Door has been successfully adapted for the stage. It has been performed in three different languages. The first adaptation was directed by Amy Draper in 2014. It was performed at the Yard Theatre in London, England.
In March 2016, the play was staged in Paris, France. It was called Je T'ai Laisse Un Mot Sur Le Frigo. It was performed at the Théâtre de Paris. The play was adapted and directed by Marie-Pascale Osterrieth. The building for the Théâtre de Paris was first built in 1730. It became the New Theater in 1891. Famous playwrights like Henrik Ibsen had their works shown there.
The story was also performed in Japan in June 2016. It was called Reizōko no Ue no Jinsei. It was shown at the Sogetsu Hall Theater in Tokyo. It also played at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center.
Inspirations
Alice Kuipers has mentioned several authors who have inspired her work. These include Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Emily Brontë, Elizabeth Strout, Valerie Martin, Dr. Seuss, Mo Willems, and Louisa May Alcott. She once said that her favorite novel is The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse. She also admired Tennessee Williams for his great dialogue writing.
