Matthew Tobin Anderson
Encyclopedia
Matthew Tobin Anderson, known as M. T. Anderson, is an American author
, primarily of picture book
s for children and novels for young adults. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts
.
, Anderson attended St. Mark's School
, Harvard
, University of Cambridge
, and Syracuse
. He worked at Candlewick Press before Thirsty was accepted for publication. Anderson is a former instructor at Vermont College
in Montpelier
, Vermont
, and former music critic for The Improper Bostonian.
Anderson's picture books include Handel Who Knew What He Liked, Strange Mr. Satie, The Serpent Came to Gloucester, and Me, All Alone, at the End of the World. He has written such young adult books as Thirsty, Burger Wuss, Feed, The Game of Sunken Places
and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. His novels for middle school
readers include the series Pals in Peril, comprising Whales on Stilts, The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen, Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware and "Agent Q, or the Smell of danger". Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales
featured one of Anderson's short stories.
Anderson is also a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance
, a national non-profit organization that advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Vermont College of Fine Arts
.
After learning Anderson included the Governor’s official mailing
address in Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware, Governor Jack Markell penned a tongue-in-cheek response, which State Librarian Annie Norman presented to M. T. Anderson in September 2009.
Honor Book, and a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award
.
Handel Who Knew What He Liked was a 2002 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1: The Pox Party (2006) the winner of the 2006 National Book Award for Young People
. The Young Adult Library Services Association
named it a 2007 Michael L. Printz Honor book for literary excellence in young adult literature.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves
(2008) also received a Michael L. Printz Honor for literary excellence in young adult literature.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, primarily of picture book
Picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. The images in picture books use a range of media such as oil paints, acrylics, watercolor and pencil.Two of the earliest books with something like the format picture books still retain now...
s for children and novels for young adults. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Biography
Born November 4, 1968, in Cambridge, MassachusettsCambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Anderson attended St. Mark's School
St. Mark's School (Massachusetts)
St. Mark’s School is a coeducational, Episcopal, preparatory school, situated on in Southborough, Massachusetts, from Boston. It was founded in 1865 as an all-boys' school by Joseph Burnett, a wealthy native of Southborough who developed and marketed the world-famous Burnett Vanilla Extract . ...
, Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, and Syracuse
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
. He worked at Candlewick Press before Thirsty was accepted for publication. Anderson is a former instructor at Vermont College
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts offers four distinct graduate programs, awarding Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Art, Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults and Graphic Design. The student to faculty ratio at VCFA is 4-to-1.. The faculty and alumni of VCFA have won many literary awards,...
in Montpelier
Montpelier, Vermont
Montpelier is a city in the U.S. state of Vermont that serves as the state capital and the shire town of Washington County. As the capital of Vermont, Montpelier is the site of the Vermont State House, seat of the legislative branch of Vermont government. The population was 7,855 at the 2010...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, and former music critic for The Improper Bostonian.
Anderson's picture books include Handel Who Knew What He Liked, Strange Mr. Satie, The Serpent Came to Gloucester, and Me, All Alone, at the End of the World. He has written such young adult books as Thirsty, Burger Wuss, Feed, The Game of Sunken Places
The Game of Sunken Places
The Game of Sunken Places is a children's fantasy novel by M. T. Anderson. It was first published in 2004. It is the first of the Norumbegan Quartet which continues in The Suburb beyond the Stars and The Empire of Gut and Bone ....
and The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. His novels for middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
readers include the series Pals in Peril, comprising Whales on Stilts, The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen, Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware and "Agent Q, or the Smell of danger". Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales
Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales
Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales is a compilation novel of horror short stories. The book is compiled by Deborah Noyes.-Background:The stories in this book are gothic. The compiler summarized what she thinks of gothic as, "It's probably more accurate to think of gothic as a room within the larger...
featured one of Anderson's short stories.
Anderson is also a board member of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance
National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance
National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance is an American non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of literacy, literature, and libraries for young people...
, a national non-profit organization that advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts
Vermont College of Fine Arts offers four distinct graduate programs, awarding Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Art, Writing, Writing for Children & Young Adults and Graphic Design. The student to faculty ratio at VCFA is 4-to-1.. The faculty and alumni of VCFA have won many literary awards,...
.
After learning Anderson included the Governor’s official mailing
address in Jasper Dash and the Flame Pits of Delaware, Governor Jack Markell penned a tongue-in-cheek response, which State Librarian Annie Norman presented to M. T. Anderson in September 2009.
Major awards
Feed was a 2002 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Winner, a 2003 Boston Globe-Horn Book AwardBoston Globe-Horn Book Award
The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards were first presented by The Boston Globe and Horn Book Magazine in 1967. They are among the most prestigious honors in the United States in the field of children’s and young adult literature...
Honor Book, and a finalist for the 2002 National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
.
Handel Who Knew What He Liked was a 2002 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Volume 1: The Pox Party (2006) the winner of the 2006 National Book Award for Young People
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
. The Young Adult Library Services Association
Young Adult Library Services Association
The Young Adult Library Services Association , established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. The mission of YALSA is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to...
named it a 2007 Michael L. Printz Honor book for literary excellence in young adult literature.
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves is a historical novel for young readers written by M.T. Anderson. It is the sequel to The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party...
(2008) also received a Michael L. Printz Honor for literary excellence in young adult literature.