WRITER

David Almond

1951 - Today

Photo of David Almond

Icon of person David Almond

David Almond (born 15 May 1951) is a British author who has written many novels for children and young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim. He is one of thirty children's writers, and one of three from the UK, to win the biennial, international Hans Christian Andersen Award. For the 70th anniversary of the British Carnegie Medal in 2007, his debut novel Skellig (1998) was named one of the top ten Medal-winning works, selected by a panel to compose the ballot for a public election of the all-time favourite. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of David Almond has received more than 252,447 page views. His biography is available in 19 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 18 in 2019). David Almond is the 4,233rd most popular writer (down from 3,983rd in 2019), the 3,030th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 2,942nd in 2019) and the 339th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 250k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 49.67

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 19

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 7.74

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 1.57

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Kit's Wilderness
Grandfathers, Coal mines and mining, Ghost stories
The Printz Award--winning classic gets a new look.The Watson family moves to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town, to care for Kit's recently widowed grandfather. When Kit meets John Askew, another boy whose family has both worked and died in the mines, Askew invites Kit to join him in playing a game called Death. As Kit's grandfather tells him stories of the mine's past and the history of the Watson family, Askew takes Kit into the mines, where the boys look to find the childhood ghosts of their long-gone ancestors. Written in haunting, lyrical prose, Kit's Wilderness examines the bonds of family from one generation to the next, and explores how meaning and beauty can be revealed from the depths of darkness.A Michael L. Printz Award WinnerAn ALA Notable Book A Publishers Weekly Best BookFrom the Paperback edition.
1999
The fire-eaters
Conduct of life, Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962, Fiction
In 1962 England, despite observing his father's illness and the suffering of the fire-eating Mr. McNulty, as well as enduring abuse at school and the stress of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Bobby Burns and his family and friends still find reasons to rejoice in their lives and to have hope for the future.
2003
Heaven eyes
Runaways, Runaway children, Juvenile fiction
Erin Law and her friends are Damaged Children. At least that is the label given to them by Maureen, the woman who runs the orphanage that they live in. Damaged, Beyond Repair because they have no parents to take care of them. But Erin knows that if they care for each other they can put up with the psychologists, the social workers, the therapists -- at least most of the time. Sometimes there is nothing left but to run away, to run for freedom. And that is what Erin and two friends do, run away one night downriver on a raft. What they find on their journey is stranger than you can imagine, maybe, and you might not think it's true. But Erin will tell you it is all true. And the proof is a girl named Heaven Eyes, who sees through all the darkness in the world to the joy that lies beneath.From the Hardcover edition.
2000
The boy who swam with piranhas
Complex words (try to find some), Circus, Children's stories
"Stanley Potts's uncle Ernie has developed an over-the-top fascination with canning fish in the house, and life at 69 Fish Quay Lane has turned barmy. But there's darkness in the madness, and when Uncle Ernie's obsession takes an unexpectedly cruel turn, Stan has no choice but to leave. As he journeys away from the life he's always known, he mingles with a carnival full of eccentric characters and meets the legendary Pancho Pirelli, the man who swims in a tank full of perilous piranhas. Will Stan be bold enough to dive in the churning waters himself and choose his own destiny?"
2001
The true tale of the monster Billy Dean
Dystopias, Fiction, Coming of age
Billy Dean is a secret child, growing up in the dark heart of Blinkbonny. He has a beautiful young mother and a father who arrives at night carrying the smell of incense and cigarettes. His world is just a bed, some pictures of the holy island and a single locked door, but his father fills his dreams with mysterious tales and dreadful warnings. When his father disappears, Billy's mum brings him out into the world, and he learns the dreadful truth of what happened in Blinkbonny on the day he was born. Gradually he finds he has the gift of helping to rebuild what has been broken. But there is one figure who is beyond healing, who comes looking for Billy himself and is determined on a kind of reckoning.
2011
Skellig
Strangers, Fiction, Angels
Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage. . . . What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever...
1998

Among WRITERS

Among writers, David Almond ranks 4,233 out of 7,302. Before him are Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, Albert Ehrenstein, Edmonde Charles-Roux, Francesco Mario Pagano, Konrad Pellikan, and Erica Jong. After him are Alexander Lernet-Holenia, Annemarie Selinko, Panas Myrny, Mascha Kaléko, Žemaitė, and Josephine Diebitsch Peary.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1951, David Almond ranks 288. Before him are Marco Antônio, Dragan Pantelić, John Mellencamp, Enda Kenny, Charlaine Harris, and Luther Vandross. After him are Bill Bryson, Bob Gale, Domitien Ndayizeye, Carl Lumbly, Edgardo Codesal, and Fyodor Konyukhov.

Others Born in 1951

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, David Almond ranks 3,030 out of 8,785. Before him are Donald Watson (1910), John Lilburne (1614), Allan Ramsay (1713), Jerome Flynn (1963), Billie Whitelaw (1932), and Fred Pentland (1883). After him are Martin McDonagh (1970), Stephen Wolfram (1959), Anthony Harvey (1930), John Keegan (1934), Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823), and Naveen Andrews (1969).

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Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, David Almond ranks 339. Before him are John Christopher (1922), Susanna Hall (1583), Sue Townsend (1946), William Langland (1332), John Winthrop (1588), and Walter Map (1140). After him are Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823), Anthony Hope (1863), Richard Pococke (1704), Richard Hakluyt (1552), Pamela Colman Smith (1878), and John Stott (1921).

British born Writers

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