Michael Scott (Irish author) facts for kids

Michael Peter Scott (born September 28, 1959) is an Irish writer. He writes many kinds of stories, including science fiction, fantasy, and horror. He also writes romance novels using the name Anna Dillon. Michael Scott is well-known for his book series, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. He also collects and edits old stories and myths.

About Michael Scott's Career

How Michael Scott Started Writing

Before becoming a writer, Michael Scott traveled around Ireland. He bought and sold rare and old books. This work helped him discover many old Irish tales.

Michael Scott's Books

Michael Scott has written over 100 books. He has been writing for more than 30 years. He writes for adults, young adults, and children. His books cover many topics like science fiction, fantasy, and old stories.

His first book, Irish Folk and Fairy Tales, volume 1, came out in 1983. He was very interested in Irish myths. This book was the first of three books that collected many Irish folk tales. Some of these stories had only been told by speaking, not written down. Michael Scott found these tales during his travels as a book dealer.

The Irish Times newspaper called him "the King of Fantasy in these Isles." This was when they reviewed his books called The De Danann Tales. The Irish Children's Book Trust also praised him. They said he made a huge contribution to children's books.

Michael Scott is most famous for his six-book series for young adults. This series is called The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.

Writing for Stage and Screen

Michael Scott also writes scripts for plays and movies. He has worked on many projects, including documentaries and dramas. He once led the drama department at Tyrone Productions. This company created the famous show Riverdance. While there, he wrote scripts for big events. These included the 2003 Special Olympics in Ireland. He also wrote for the Irish Film and Television Awards.

In 1991, Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence for Dublin. This was when Dublin was the European City of Culture. He was also listed in Who's Who in Ireland in 2006. This book names 1,000 "most significant Irish" people.

Writing Style and Interests

Michael Scott says his favorite topic is mythology. He grew up in Ireland, which has many rich myths. This made him naturally interested in old stories. Irish mythology stayed strong because the Romans or Greeks did not invade Ireland. History is also very important to his writing style. It was his favorite subject in school.

Even though he loves mythology, Scott writes about whatever interests him. This means he writes in many different styles and genres. He does not like to be limited by labels. He just wants to be a writer, not a writer of only one type of story.

The Nicholas Flamel Series

Books in the Series

The first book in Michael Scott's six-book series is The Alchemyst. It reached number 2 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's books in August 2007. By March 2008, it had sold over 150,000 copies. The second book, The Magician, reached number 4 on the same list in July 2008.

The series has been printed in 20 languages. It is available in 37 countries around the world. Michael Scott wrote the whole series because he was interested in history. He also found inspiration from many different places.

Online Games Based on the Books

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series has also inspired online games. The first game was called The Codex Master. In this game, players had to guess a secret code. The code was a sequence of colored orbs. Players used logic to figure out the correct order.

Another game, The Challenges of the Elder, was made for the release of The Sorceress. This game launched in April 2009. Michael Scott himself appeared in videos to guide players. The game had four challenges. One challenge was to put together a moving jigsaw puzzle. Another was to find matching symbols on books. A third challenge involved repeating sequences of colors. Finally, players answered questions about the books. They received a ranking based on their scores.

Movie Plans for the Series

The film rights for The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series became available in late 2009. In November 2009, it was announced that Lorenzo di Bonaventura bought the rights. Michael Scott is one of the executive producers for the movie. An executive producer helps oversee the movie's creation.

The movie version of The Alchemyst is currently being developed. Michael Scott has said that he will not write the movie script. He had three more books to finish at the time.

Awards for the Series

Michael Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series has received 10 literary award nominations. The Alchemyst won the 2008 Rhode Island Book Award (Teens). It won against 200 other nominated books.

The Alchemyst was nominated for:

• Irish Book of the Year 2008
• Kentucky Bluegrass Book Award
• Maine Student Book Award
• Nevada Young Readers Award
• NCSLMA YA Book Award - 2010
• Rhode Island Book Award 2008– (Winner)

The Magician was nominated for:

• 2009 Irish Book of the Year Award — The Dublin Airport Authority Irish Children's Book of the Year — Snr Category.

The Sorceress was nominated for:

• Amazon - Best Books of 2009, Top 10 Children's Books: Middle Readers.
• Cybills (Children and Young Bloggers Literary Awards) - 2009 Nominations, fantasy & science-fiction: Elementary/Middle Years.

See also

In Spanish: Michael Scott (escritor) para niños