Meg Rosoff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Meg Rosoff
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Rosoff in Stockholm, 2016
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| Born | 16 October 1956 (age 68) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Fiction |
Meg Rosoff (born October 16, 1956) is an American writer. She lives in London, United Kingdom. She is best known for her novel How I Live Now (2004). This book won several important awards. These include the Guardian Prize and the Printz Award. Her second novel, Just in Case (2006), won the Carnegie Medal. This award is given by British librarians for the best children's book published in the UK.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Meg Rosoff was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1956. She grew up in a Jewish family. She was the second of four sisters. She went to Harvard University from 1974 to 1977. After that, she moved to London. There, she studied sculpture at Saint Martin's School of Art.
She returned to the United States in 1980 to finish her degree. Later, she lived in New York City for nine years. During this time, she worked in publishing and advertising.
Becoming a Writer
In 1989, when she was 32, Meg Rosoff moved back to London. She has lived there ever since. From 1989 to 2003, she worked as a copywriter for different advertising companies.
She started writing novels after her youngest sister passed away. Her first book for young adults, How I Live Now, came out in 2004. This book won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. It also won the Michael L. Printz Award. This award is for the "best book written for teens" in the US.
In 2005, she published a children's book called Meet Wild Boars. Sophie Blackall drew the pictures for this book. Just in Case, published in 2006, won the British Carnegie Medal. It also won the German Jugendliteraturpreis.
Her third novel, What I Was, came out in 2007. She then worked with Sophie Blackall again on two more books. These were Wild Boars Cook and Jumpy Jack and Googily. Another novel, The Bride's Farewell, was named one of the top ten books for young adults in 2009.
There Is No Dog was published in 2011. It is a funny novel about God being a 19-year-old boy. Rosoff explained that the title comes from a joke. It's about a person who can't spell well and doesn't believe in God. They walk in front of a church with a sign saying "THERE IS NO DOG."
Picture Me Gone was a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award for Young People's Literature in the U.S.
The How I Live Now Film
The movie based on How I Live Now came out in 2013. Kevin MacDonald directed the film. It opened in Britain on October 4, 2013. It later came out in America and Canada on November 5, 2013. The movie starred Saoirse Ronan, George MacKay, and Tom Holland.
In 2016, Meg Rosoff won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. This is the largest cash prize in children's literature. She won it for all her books.
Major Awards and Honors
Meg Rosoff has received many awards for her writing.
Lifetime Achievement Honors
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (2014)
- Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2016)
- Fellow of Homerton College, Cambridge
Awards for Specific Books
How I Live Now
- 2004 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
- 2005 Michael L. Printz Award (US)
- 2005 Branford Boase Award (for a first novel)
- 2005 Der Luchs des Jahres
Just in Case
- 2007 Carnegie Medal
- 2008 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis
What I Was
- 2009 Der Luchs des Jahres
The Bride's Farewell
- 2010 Alex Award
Good Dog McTavish
- Winner 2020 Premio Letteratura Ragazzi Prize
The Great Godden
- Winner 2021 Orbil prize (awarded by Italian independent bookshops)
