Susan Cooper facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Susan Cooper FRSL
Cooper in 2013
Born	Susan Mary Cooper (1935-05-23) 23 May 1935 (age 90) Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
Occupation	Writer
Language	English
Alma mater	Somerville College, Oxford
Period	1964–present
Genre	Children's fantasy novels
Notable works	The Dark Is Rising series
Notable awards	Newbery Medal 1976 Margaret A. Edwards Award 2012
Spouse	Nicholas Grant ​ ​ (m. 1963; div. 1983)​ Hume Cronyn ​ ​ (m. 1996; died 2003)​

Susan Mary Cooper (born 23 May 1935) is an English author who writes books for children. She is famous for her fantasy book series called The Dark Is Rising. These books are set in England and Wales. They use old British stories, like those about King Arthur and Welsh folk heroes.

In 2012, she won a special award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, for her books. This award celebrates writers who have made a big difference in books for teenagers. In the 1970s, two of her novels were even named the best English books with a "real Welsh background" by the Welsh Books Council. In 2024, a group called the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association gave her another big award, the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award. This award recognized her important contributions to science fiction and fantasy stories.

About Susan Cooper

Early Life and Family

Susan Cooper was born in 1935 in Burnham, Buckinghamshire, England. Her mother, Ethel May, was a teacher. Her father, John Richard Cooper, worked at the Natural History Museum before serving in World War II. After the war, he worked for the Great Western Railway. Susan also has a younger brother, Roderick, who became a writer too.

Susan lived in Buckinghamshire until she was 21. Then, her parents moved to Aberdyfi in Wales, where her grandmother lived.

Education and First Jobs

Susan went to Slough High School. Later, she studied English at Somerville College at the University of Oxford. While there, she made history as the first woman to edit the student newspaper, Cherwell.

After college, she worked as a reporter for The Sunday Times newspaper in London. She wrote in her free time. During this period, she started writing The Dark Is Rising series. Her first novel, a science fiction book for adults called Mandrake, was published in 1964.

Moving to the United States

In 1963, Susan Cooper moved to the United States. She married Nicholas J. Grant and had two children with him: Jonathan (born 1965) and Katharine (born 1966). After moving, she became a full-time writer. She focused on The Dark Is Rising series. She also wrote Dawn of Fear (1970), a novel based on her own experiences during World War II.

Over the years, Susan Cooper wrote many different types of stories. She wrote fiction for both children and adults. She also created picture books, movie scripts, and plays for the stage.

Later Life and Work

In 1996, Susan Cooper married the Canadian-American actor Hume Cronyn. They had worked together on a play called Foxfire, which was performed on Broadway in 1982.

After Hume Cronyn passed away in 2003, Susan moved back to Massachusetts. She built a house near the North River. The history of this area inspired her 2013 book, Ghost Hawk. This book tells the story of a Wampanoag spirit who sees how Massachusetts changed after the Plymouth Colony was formed.

A movie version of her book The Dark Is Rising was made in 2007, called The Seeker. Before seeing the film, Cooper mentioned that she had asked for some changes, but did not get a response.

From 2006 to 2012, Susan Cooper was on the board of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance (NCBLA). This group helps promote reading, books, and libraries in the U.S.

In 2017, she gave a special talk at Pembroke College, Oxford, about how fantasy literature is important today. In 2019, she published The Shortest Day, which was based on a poem she wrote for a Christmas show in the 1970s.

Awards and Recognition

Susan Cooper has received many important awards for her writing.

Major Awards

• In 2002, she was nominated by the U.S. for the Hans Christian Andersen Award. This is one of the highest international honors for children's book creators.
• In 2012, she won the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association. This award recognized her five Dark Is Rising novels. The award committee said her books use Celtic and Arthurian myths. They create a big battle between good and evil, seen through the journey of a boy named Will Stanton.
• In 2020, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
• In 2024, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association named her the 40th Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master. This was for her significant contributions to science fiction and fantasy literature.

Awards for Individual Books

• 1974: Newbery Honor (runner-up for the Medal) for The Dark Is Rising (the 1973 novel).
• 1976: Newbery Medal for The Grey King.
• 1976: Tir na n-Og Award for The Grey King.
• 1978: Tir na n-Og Award for Silver on the Tree.
• 1989: B'nai B'rith Janusz Korczak Literary Prize for Seaward.

Susan Cooper's Works

Susan Cooper has written many different kinds of books and plays.

Biographies

• J. B. Priestley: Portrait of an Author (1970) – a book about the English writer John Boynton Priestley.
• The Magic Maker: A Portrait of John Langstaff and His Christmas Revels (2011) – a book for young readers about John Langstaff, who started the Revels performances.

Other Nonfiction Books

• Behind the Golden Curtain: A View of the USA (1965).
• Dreams and Wishes: Essays on Writing for Children (1996).

Plays and Screenplays

• Foxfire (1982) – a play written with Hume Cronyn. It was performed on Broadway.
• She also wrote four screenplays for television:
  • Dark Encounter (1976)
  • The Dollmaker (1984)
  • To Dance with the White Dog (1993)
  • Jewel (2001)

Novels

The Dark Is Rising Series

This is her most famous series.

• Over Sea, Under Stone (1965)
• The Dark Is Rising (1973)
• Greenwitch (1974)
• The Grey King (1975)
• Silver on the Tree (1977)

Boggart Series

These books are about a magical creature called a Boggart.

• The Boggart (1993)
• The Boggart and the Monster (1997)
• The Boggart Fights Back (2018)

Other Novels

• Mandrake (1964) – her first science fiction novel for adults.
• Dawn of Fear (1970) – a story based on her childhood during World War II.
• Seaward (1983)
• King of Shadows (1999)
• Green Boy (2002)
• Victory (2006)
• Ghost Hawk (2013)

Children's Picture Books

Susan Cooper has also written many beautiful picture books for younger children.

• Jethro and the Jumbie (1979)
• The Silver Cow: A Welsh Tale (1983) – a Welsh folk tale.
• The Selkie Girl (1986) – a retelling of a Selkie legend.
• Matthew's Dragon (1991)
• Tam Lin (1991) – a retelling of the Tam Lin legend.
• Danny and the Kings (1993)
• Frog (2002)
• The Magician's Boy (2005)
• The Word Pirates (2019)
• The Shortest Day (2019)

Short Stories

Susan Cooper has also contributed short stories to various collections:

• "Muffin" – a story set during World War II.
• "Ghost Story" – in a collection supporting IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People).
• Our White House: Looking In, Looking Out – she wrote one piece for this book.
• The Exquisite Corpse Adventure – she wrote one part of this story.
• "The Caretakers" – in a UK collection called Haunted.

See also

In Spanish: Susan Cooper para niños