Valerie Mendes facts for kids

Valerie Helene Mendes, born in October 1939, is an English writer. She writes both novels and poems. Valerie Mendes is famous for her books for teenagers. These include Girl in the Attic, Coming of Age, Lost and Found, and The Drowning. She has also written historical novels for adults. In recent years, she published her life story, Not Only But Also: A Memoir, in 2021. In 2022, she released The Gathering: Collected Poems.

About Valerie Mendes

Valerie Mendes was born in Buckinghamshire, England. This was in October 1939. She went to the North London Collegiate School. Later, she studied at the University of Reading. Her son is Sir Sam Mendes, a very well-known director. He directs both theatre plays and films. Valerie Mendes also has four grandchildren. One of them is the actor Joe Anders.

Valerie Mendes's Career

Valerie Mendes started her career as a journalist. She worked for a company called Marshall Cavendish. There, she wrote and edited for weekly magazines. She then became an editor at Oxford University Press. She helped create books for people learning English. Later, she worked for Penguin Books in a similar role. She returned to Oxford University Press. There, she started a new series of easy-to-read books called Alpha Books.

Between 1979 and 1983, Valerie Mendes worked on an Encyclopedia of Visual Art. This big project was later published by Macmillan and Encyclopedia Britannica. In the mid-1980s, she managed promotions for the Franklin Watts Group. This group published children's books. From 1987 to 1988, she taught publishing at Oxford Polytechnic. She also managed publications for BUPA in London.

In 1990, Mendes started her own company called Wordwise. It was a publishing and editing business. For eight years, she wrote and edited books for many publishers. These included Blackwell Publishers and Collins Educational. She also worked with Ladybird Books and Routledge.

Her Early Stories and Picture Books

While working for Penguin Books, Valerie Mendes wrote short stories. These stories, New Year Cat and The Best Guy in Albert Street, appeared in Puffin Post. Between 1992 and 2001, she published two picture books. Tomasina's First Dance was illustrated by Heather Calder. Look at Me, Grandma! was illustrated by Claire Fletcher. People liked Look at Me, Grandma! because of its repeating words.

Novels for Young People and Adults

In 2002, Valerie Mendes published her first novel for teenagers. It was called Girl in the Attic. After that, she wrote four more teen novels. These were Coming of Age, Lost and Found, The Drowning, and Where Peacocks Scream. In 2014, she wrote her first historical novel for adults, Larkswood. She followed this with Daddy's Girl and Beatrice and Alexander.

Valerie Mendes's Books

• Girl in the Attic (2002)
• Coming of Age (2003)
• Lost and Found (2004)
• The Drowning (2005)
• Larkswood (2014)
• Where Peacocks Scream (2017)
• Daddy's Girl (2021)
• Beatrice and Alexander (2021)
• Not Only But Also: A Memoir (2021)
• The Gathering: Collected Poems (2022)

Picture Books

• Tomasina's First Dance (1992)
• Look At Me, Grandma! (2001)

See also

In Spanish: Valerie Mendes para niños