Philip Pullman facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids Sir Philip Pullman CBE FRSL
Pullman in April 2005
Born	(1946-10-19) 19 October 1946 (age 78) Norwich, England
Occupation	Novelist
Education	English
Alma mater	Exeter College, Oxford
Genre	Fantasy
Notable works	His Dark Materials Clockwork, or All Wound Up The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
Notable awards	Carnegie Medal 1995 Guardian Prize 1996 Astrid Lindgren Award 2005
Spouse	Judith Speller (m. 1970)
Children	2
Parents	Alfred Outram Pullman Audrey Evelyn Merrifield
Relatives	Outram Marshall (great-grandfather)
Signature

Sir Philip Pullman (born 19 October 1946) is a famous English writer. He is best known for his amazing fantasy books, especially the trilogy His Dark Materials. He also wrote The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, which is a story about Jesus.

In 2008, The Times newspaper called Philip Pullman one of the "50 greatest British writers since 1945". A 2004 BBC poll named him the eleventh most important person in British culture. He was made a knight in 2019 for his great work in literature.

His book Northern Lights was the first in the His Dark Materials series. It won the 1995 Carnegie Medal. This award is for the best English children's book of the year. Later, it was voted the all-time favorite "Carnegie of Carnegies" in 2007. The book was made into a movie called The Golden Compass. In 2003, the His Dark Materials trilogy was voted third in the BBC's The Big Read poll. This poll asked the British public to choose their top 200 novels.

Philip Pullman's Early Life and Career

Philip Pullman was born in Norwich, England. His father, Alfred Outram Pullman, was a pilot in the Royal Air Force. His family moved a lot because of his father's job. Philip spent most of his childhood in Llanbedr in Ardudwy, Wales.

When Philip was seven, his father died in a plane crash in Kenya. Philip later learned more about the crash. His mother remarried a year later. After moving to North Wales, Philip discovered comic books like Superman and Batman. He still enjoys them today.

Philip went to Ysgol Ardudwy in Harlech, Gwynedd. He also spent time in Norfolk with his grandfather, who was a clergyman. Around this time, Philip found John Milton's Paradise Lost. This book became a huge inspiration for His Dark Materials. He felt a strong connection to the poetry, saying it made his heart beat faster.

Later, as a teenager, Philip discovered the poetry of William Blake. He felt that Blake's poems were true and powerful.

Education and First Steps in Writing

From 1965, Philip Pullman studied at Exeter College, Oxford. He got a degree in English in 1968. He later said he didn't really enjoy his English course.

In 1970, Philip married Judith Speller. They have two sons. Around this time, he started teaching children aged 9 to 13. He also began writing plays for schools.

His first published work was The Haunted Storm in 1972. His school plays inspired his first children's book, Count Karlstein, in 1982. He stopped teaching after his book The Ruby in the Smoke came out in 1986. This book was a mystery set in the Victorian era. It was the first in the Sally Lockhart series.

Between 1988 and 1996, Pullman taught part-time. He kept writing children's stories. He started His Dark Materials around 1993. The first book, Northern Lights, was published in 1995.

Full-Time Writing and Awards

Philip Pullman has been a full-time writer since 1996. He often gives talks and writes for The Guardian. He also writes about education and sometimes criticizes how it is managed.

In 2004, he received a CBE award. He was also chosen as President of the Blake Society.

In 2005, Philip Pullman won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. This award is from Sweden and recognizes his great work in children's and young adult literature. The award committee said he "radically injects new life into fantasy." They also noted that he combines great storytelling with deep understanding of people.

In 2008, he began working on The Book of Dust. This is a new series connected to His Dark Materials. He also worked on "The Adventures of John Blake" for a children's comic.

In 2009, he received an honorary degree from the University of Oxford.

In 2012, Philip Pullman chose 50 of Grimms' classic fairytales for Penguin Classics. He said that some stories are much better than others. He included famous ones like Rumpelstiltskin and Cinderella.

The first book of The Book of Dust, La Belle Sauvage, was published in October 2017. The second book, The Secret Commonwealth, came out in October 2019. Philip Pullman even named a character in the book after a young victim of the Grenfell Tower fire. He raised money for charity by offering this chance.

Philip Pullman was made a Knight Bachelor in 2019. In March 2019, he received the J. M. Barrie Award for his lifetime of work delighting children.

His Dark Materials Series

His Dark Materials is a popular fantasy trilogy. It includes:

Northern Lights (also known as The Golden Compass in North America)
The Subtle Knife
The Amber Spyglass

Northern Lights won the Carnegie Medal in 1995. The Amber Spyglass won the Whitbread Prize for best children's book and the overall Whitbread Book of the Year prize in 2002. This was the first time a children's book won the main award. The series became very popular and was ranked third in the BBC's Big Read poll in 2003.

Philip Pullman has also written two shorter books connected to the trilogy: Lyra's Oxford and Once Upon a Time in the North. He also mentioned a third one, which will be about the character Will Parry.

The Book of Dust is another trilogy that shares characters and events with His Dark Materials. Philip Pullman calls it an "equel," meaning it's not exactly a sequel or a prequel, but a story that happens alongside the original. The first book, La Belle Sauvage, came out in 2017. The second, The Secret Commonwealth, was published in 2019.

Philip Pullman has read the full audiobooks of the His Dark Materials trilogy himself. Other actors read the other parts.

Philip Pullman's Ideas and Views

Philip Pullman often speaks out about books and other important topics.

Views on Writing and Fantasy

Philip Pullman believes that writers learn from every book they read. He says his main inspirations are Heinrich von Kleist's essay "On the Marionette Theater", Milton's Paradise Lost, and the works of William Blake. He also loves Robert Burton's The Anatomy of Melancholy, calling it a funny book about sadness.

He wants fantasy stories to feel real, especially the characters. He thinks that the best writers create characters that seem like real people in real situations. He believes fantasy can tell important stories when it feels true to life. He sees His Dark Materials as "stark realism," not just fantasy. He admires other fantasy writers like Alan Garner and Neil Gaiman.

Views on Children's Literature

Pullman thinks children should have access to high-quality books. He doesn't believe there's a big difference between books for children and books for adults. He feels that people should be open to all kinds of stories. He also thinks it would be good if adult books were sometimes reviewed as being enjoyable for children too.

He admires writer Philippa Pearce. When Northern Lights won the "Carnegie of Carnegies" award, Pearce's Tom's Midnight Garden was the runner-up. Pullman joked that they got the initials right but not the name.

He also admires Leon Garfield, who put his best ideas into all his writing. Pullman says that one way to get children interested in complex things is to show them you enjoy it. Then, if you pretend to forbid them from touching it because it's "too grown-up," they'll want to try it even more!

Views on Books and Labels

In 2008, Philip Pullman led a campaign against putting age labels on children's books. He said it was a simple way of thinking about how children grow. He felt it limited what children might read. More than 1,200 authors, booksellers, and teachers joined him. His own publisher agreed not to put age labels on his books.

In 2014, he supported the Let Books Be Books campaign. This campaign wanted to stop books from being labeled "for girls" or "for boys." Pullman said he was against anything that might stop children from enjoying a book. He believes readers should decide for themselves what they want to read.

Views on Civil Liberties

Philip Pullman strongly believes in traditional British civil liberties. He has often criticized the government for increasing its power and getting too involved in people's lives. In 2009, he spoke out against new laws that he felt attacked basic civil rights. He and other authors even threatened to stop visiting schools because of new vetting rules.

Supporting Libraries

In 2011, Philip Pullman supported a campaign to stop 600 library closures in England. He called it a "war against stupidity." He argued that books are incredibly important. He said: "A book symbolizes the whole intellectual history of mankind; it's the greatest weapon ever devised in the war against stupidity." He warned that closing libraries would make books harder to get and would allow "stupidity to gain a little ground."

Fair Pay for Authors

In 2013, Philip Pullman spoke out for authors to be paid fairly for ebook library loans. At the time, authors were paid for physical book loans but not for ebook loans. He said: "Authors must be paid fairly for their work. Any arrangement that doesn't acknowledge that principle is a bad one, and needs to be changed."

Supporting William Blake's Legacy

As a big fan of William Blake, Philip Pullman led a campaign in 2014 to buy the cottage where the poet lived. He wanted to create a proper memorial and a study center for Blake. He also helped get a new memorial gravestone for Blake in 2018.

President of the Society of Authors

In 2013, Philip Pullman was chosen as President of the Society of Authors. This is a very high honor for a British writer. In 2016, he resigned from a literary festival in protest. He wanted to highlight that writers were not being paid enough for their work at festivals.

Philip Pullman's Perspective on Religion

Philip Pullman has shared his thoughts on religion many times. He has described himself as an "Church of England atheist" but also as technically an agnostic. He has criticized certain parts of Christianity, saying that if God is as Christians describe him, he deserves to be rebelled against. He also believes this could apply to all religions.

Pullman supports Humanists UK and is an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. In 2011, he received an award for his long-standing support of Humanism.

In 2010, Philip Pullman and other public figures signed a letter against Pope Benedict XVI being given a state visit to the UK. They argued that the Pope had led or allowed human rights abuses.

Some people have criticized his books, especially His Dark Materials, for their views on religion. The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights and Focus on the Family have spoken against them. Some critics felt his work could harm future religious teaching for young people. Pullman was actually pleased by some of these strong reactions, as he felt it showed his books were making people think.

However, Philip Pullman has also found support from some Christians. Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, said that Pullman's books criticize strict religious rules and the misuse of religion to control people, not Christianity itself. Williams even suggested using His Dark Materials for discussions in religious education classes.

In a 2017 interview, Pullman said that religion will always be a part of human life. He believes it's natural for people to ask big questions about life's purpose. He also mentioned that his novel, The Book of Dust, explores the danger of people who believe in very strict ideas, whether they are religious or political.

Awards and Honors

1972: Joint-winner of the New English Library's Young Writer's Award.
1995: Won the Carnegie Medal for Northern Lights.
1996: Won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for Northern Lights.
2004: Awarded a CBE.
2004: Elected President of the Blake Society.
2005: Won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
2013: Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Bath.
2019: Made a Knight Bachelor.
2019: Received the J. M. Barrie Award.

Book and TV Adaptations

Many of Philip Pullman's books have been turned into TV shows, movies, and plays.

Screen Adaptations

I Was a Rat was a TV mini-series by the BBC in 2001.
The Butterfly Tattoo was made into a film in 2007. This project helped young artists get experience in the film industry.
The Ruby in the Smoke was a TV adaptation by the BBC and WGBH Boston in 2006. It starred Billie Piper. The second book in the series, The Shadow in the North, aired in 2007.
Northern Lights was made into a film called The Golden Compass in 2007. It starred Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra.
His Dark Materials is a TV series produced by the BBC and HBO. It started broadcasting in November 2019.

Other Adaptations

London's Royal National Theatre created a two-part play of His Dark Materials in 2003. Other theaters have also performed this play.
His Dark Materials has also been made into radio shows, CDs, and audiobooks. Philip Pullman himself narrated the full audiobooks.
The Ruby In The Smoke was adapted for the stage and toured the UK in 2016.
The Firework-Maker's Daughter was turned into an opera in 2013. Philip Pullman said it was one of the best adaptations of his stories.

Images for kids

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