Simon Mason (author)
Encyclopedia
Biography
Simon Mason was born in Sheffield in 1962. He was educated at local schools and studied English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. He splits his time between writing at home and a part-time editorial position with David Fickling BooksDavid Fickling Books
David Fickling Books is an imprint of Random House which has published books by authors including Philip Pullman, Mark Haddon, John Boyne, Nick Ward and Linda Newbery.-List of Books Published:-References:...
, an imprint of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
and publisher of his 2011 children's novel, Moon Pie.
Children's Fiction
Mason's 2011 novel, Moon Pie, published by David Fickling BooksDavid Fickling Books
David Fickling Books is an imprint of Random House which has published books by authors including Philip Pullman, Mark Haddon, John Boyne, Nick Ward and Linda Newbery.-List of Books Published:-References:...
was short-listed for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
Julia Eccleshare
Julia Eccleshare
Julia Eccleshare is a leading British journalist and writer on the subject of children's books.- Life and career :Eccleshare was born in Cambridge and grew up in North London, the third of four children of Colin Eccleshare, a publisher with Cambridge University Press, and Liz, a history...
, chair of the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize judging panel, said: ""How love is tested, challenged and threatened, but can ultimately hold families together is at the heart of Moon Pie. Martha is used to managing her father's sometimes erratic behaviour after her mother dies. Dealing with his oddities and caring for her small brother Tug seems not much stranger than her friend Marcus's obsession with Hollywood movies. But finally, even for her, it is all just a bit too much. This is a beautifully told story that is long on affection and short on preaching."
In 2002, Mason wrote the children's series The Quigleys
The Quigleys
The Quigleys are a series of children's books about the Quigley family written by Simon Mason. There are currently 4 books and there are expected to be 7 in total...
, about a spirited and lovable family.
The Quigleys marked the start of a series featuring the eccentric Quigley family and was short-listed for the Branford Boase Award
Branford Boase Award
The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding novel for young people by a first-time writer.Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books and Henrietta Branford worked together previously to produce a great number of books. Both Wendy Boase and...
in 2003.
- The Quigleys, 2002
- Review, Hornbook Magazine July 1, 2002
- The Quigleys Not for Sale, 2004
- The Quigleys At Large. 2004.,
- Review, Washington Post, Mar 7, 2004
- Review Hornbook Magazine, Sept 1, 2003
- The Quigleys in a Spin
- Review, Hornbook Magazine, Mar 1, 2006
- Review, Toronto Star, Jun 11, 2006
Adult Novels
The Great English Nude, published by Constable in 1990, won a £2,000 Betty Trask AwardBetty Trask Award
The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are for first novels written by authors under the age of 35, who reside in a current or former Commonwealth nation. The awards were established in 1984 by the Society of Authors, at the bequest of the late Betty Trask, a reclusive author of over thirty romance novels...
in 1991 for first novels written by authors under the age of 35 in a romantic or traditional, but not experimental, style.
The Great English Nude was published in the United States as Portrait of the Artist with My Wife .
Death of a Fantasist was published by Constable in 1994.. It was described by The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
as "inevitably reminiscent of Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
. Its well-crafted comedy gets blacker and blacker until suddenly the reader finds the balance has shifted: there is real menace in the air."
Lives of the Dog-Stranglers was published by Vintage in 1999. It is described as "Like any suburb in the south of England, Parkside's character is formed by rumour and fantasy and everyone is the figment of his neighbour's imagination: 'We're anything they want us to be - murderers, redheads, philanderers, dog-stranglers.' This is an elegant, savage farce of suburbia."
Non-Fiction
He is also the author of The Rough Guide to Classic Novels , in the Rough Guides series, published in 2003. It is described as "a consummate demonstration that it is possible to celebrate the finest achievements of the human race in the arts and humanities without couching them in forbidding academic language".Author Kate Mosse
Kate Mosse
Kate Mosse is an English author and broadcaster. She is best known for her 2005 novel Labyrinth, which has been translated into more than 37 languages.- Private life :...
is quoted as saying "... it reads like a novel and it's partly because Simon is a really great writer... The thing that distinguishes Simon's book from the other guides that there have been in in this area is he has squarely said it cannot be a classic if it's not entertaining"