Patrick Ness facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Patrick Ness FRSL
Ness in 2017
Born	(1971-10-17) 17 October 1971 (age 53) Fort Belvoir, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Author Writer Producer
Nationality	American-British
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Genre	Young adult
Spouse	Nick Coveney (married 2022)

Patrick Ness (born 17 October 1971) is a well-known American-British author. He also works as a journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter. Patrick Ness was born in the United States. Later, he moved to London and now has citizenship in both countries.

He is most famous for his books for young adults. These include the exciting Chaos Walking trilogy (2008–2010) and the powerful novel A Monster Calls (2011).

Ness has won the important Carnegie Medal twice. He won it in 2011 for Monsters of Men and again in 2012 for A Monster Calls. He is one of only a few writers to win this award more than once. He is also the second writer to win it two years in a row!

Patrick Ness wrote the movie script for the 2016 film based on A Monster Calls. He also created and wrote the Doctor Who spin-off TV show called Class.

Patrick Ness's Early Life

Patrick Ness was born near an army base called Fort Belvoir in Virginia, USA. His father was a Sergeant in the US Army. When Patrick was young, his family moved a lot. They lived in Hawaii until he was six. Then, they spent ten years in Washington State. After that, they moved to Los Angeles. Patrick Ness studied English Literature at the University of Southern California.

After college, he worked for a cable company, writing different materials for them. He published his first short story in a magazine called Genre in 1997. He was working on his first novel when he moved to London in 1999.

Patrick Ness's Writing Career

Patrick Ness's first novel for adults was The Crash of Hennington, published in 2003. After that, he released a short story collection called Topics About Which I Know Nothing in 2004.

His first book for young adults was The Knife of Never Letting Go. This book won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2008. Two more books followed: The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men. These three books together form the popular Chaos Walking trilogy.

Patrick Ness also wrote three short stories that take place in the Chaos Walking world. These are "The New World," "The Wide, Wide Sea," and "Snowscape." The first two are prequels, meaning they happen before the main story. "Snowscape" takes place after the trilogy ends. You can find these short stories as free ebooks. They are also included in some print editions of the novels.

How A Monster Calls Was Created

The idea for A Monster Calls came from an Irish writer named Siobhan Dowd. She had cancer and could not finish the story before she passed away in 2007. Siobhan Dowd and Patrick Ness shared the same editor at a publishing company. After Siobhan's death, the publisher asked Patrick Ness to finish the story using her notes. Patrick Ness said he just wanted to write a book that Siobhan Dowd would have liked.

Jim Kay was chosen to draw the pictures for the book. Patrick Ness and Jim Kay finished the book without ever meeting in person. A Monster Calls was very successful. Patrick Ness won the Carnegie Medal for the writing. Jim Kay won the Kate Greenaway Medal for the illustrations. This was the first time one book won both major awards!

Other Works and TV Shows

In 2013, Patrick Ness wrote a short e-book for the Doctor Who series. It was called Tip of the Tongue and featured the Fifth Doctor. This was part of a series of e-shorts celebrating the show's 50th anniversary.

His fourth young adult novel, More Than This, came out in 2013. It was later nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 2015. The Crane Wife, his third novel for adults, was published in 2014.

In 2015, The Rest of Us Just Live Here was published. It received many positive reviews. In the same year, the BBC announced that Patrick Ness would write a Doctor Who spin-off show. This show was called Class. It had eight episodes and aired in 2016. The BBC later decided not to make more seasons of Class.

His novel Release was published in 2017. Patrick Ness described it as a very personal book. In 2021, it was announced that Ness was working on a script for a movie. It would be a prequel to the movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.

Patrick Ness's Personal Life

Patrick Ness became a British citizen in 2005. In October 2022, he married Nick Coveney in Las Vegas.

Patrick Ness has also taught creative writing at the University of Oxford. He has written articles and reviews for several newspapers. These include The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. He has also been a Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund. He was the first Writer in Residence for BookTrust, an organization that promotes reading.

In 2023, Patrick Ness was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. This is a special honor for writers.

Awards and Recognition

Patrick Ness has won many awards for his books. Here are some of them:

The Rest of Us Just Live Here received many awards. It was also named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews.

Patrick Ness's Books

Novels for Young Adults

Chaos Walking series

1. The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008)
2. The Ask and the Answer (2009)
3. Monsters of Men (2010)

• Short stories in the series:

  1.5. "The New World" (2009)

  2.5. "The Wide, Wide Sea" (2013)

  3.5. "Snowscape" (2013)

Standalone Novels

• A Monster Calls (2011)
• More Than This (2013)
• The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015)
• Release (2017)
• Burn (2020)
• Different for Boys (2023)
• Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody (2023)

Novels for Adults

• The Crash of Hennington (2003)
• The Crane Wife (2014)

Short Stories

• "Different for Boys", found in Losing it (2010)
• "Doctor Who: Tip of the Tongue" (2013), found in Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (2019)
• "This Whole Demoing Thing", found in Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales (2014)

Collections of Short Stories

• Topics About Which I Know Nothing (2004), a collection of 11 short stories:

  "Implied Violence", "The Way All Trends Do", "Ponce de Leon is a Retired Married Couple From Toronto", "Jesus' Elbows and Other Christian Urban Myths", "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?", "Sydney is a City of Jaywalkers", "2,115 Opportunities", "The Motivations of Sally Rae Wentworth, Amazon", "The Seventh International Military War Games Dance Committee Quadrennial Competition and Jamboree", "The Gifted", "Now That You've Died"

Film and TV Work

External Links

• Patrick Ness at British Council: Literature
• The Knife Of Never Letting Go, chapter one
• Opening speech by Ness at the children and youth program of the International Literature Festival Berlin

See also

In Spanish: Patrick Ness para niños