Chris Priestley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Priestley
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| Born | 1958 (age 66–67) |
| Alma mater | Manchester Metropolitan University |
| Genre | Children's literature, horror |
Chris Priestley (born in 1958) is a British author and illustrator. He is well-known for writing exciting children's books, especially those with a spooky or horror theme. He lives in Cambridge, England.
Contents
About Chris Priestley
Early Life and Art School
Chris Priestley grew up in two interesting places: Wales and Gibraltar. When he was just nine years old, he showed his talent for writing. He won a medal in a story-writing competition held by a local newspaper!
Later, as a teenager, he lived in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In 1976, he moved to Manchester to study illustration at Manchester Polytechnic. This is where he learned how to create amazing drawings and artwork. After finishing his studies in 1980, he moved to London to start his career as a freelance artist.
Working as an Illustrator and Cartoonist
Chris Priestley worked as an illustrator for many different clients. His drawings often appeared in famous newspapers like The Times, The Listener, and The Observer. He also designed posters for theaters, including the Royal Court Theatre.
He created several comic strips for newspapers. Some of these were Bestiary, Babel, 7:30 for 8:0, and Payne’s Grey. From 1990 to 1996, he drew weekly cartoons for The Economist magazine. Then, from 1996 to 1998, he was a daily cartoonist for The Independent newspaper. His paintings have also been shown in art exhibitions.
Becoming a Children's Author
In 2000, Chris Priestley published his very first children's book, called Dog Magic. Since then, he has become a popular author, especially known for his scary and thrilling stories for young readers.
His books have won many awards:
- In 2004, Death and the Arrow was nominated for an Edgar Award in the United States.
- In 2006, Redwulf's Curse won the Lancashire Fantastic Book Award.
- Tales of Terror from the Black Ship received a CPNB Vlag and Wimpel award in 2010 for its Dutch translation.
- The German version of Uncle Montague’s Tales of Terror was nominated for a Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 2011.
- Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth won the Dracula Society Children of the Night Award in 2009.
- Mister Creecher won the BASH (Book Award St Helens) in 2012.
Besides writing books, Chris Priestley has also written stories for radio. He contributed two stories to a BBC Radio 2 collection called It's Grimm Up North, which updated classic Brothers Grimm tales.
