Patrick Ness
Patrick grew up in the US and studied English Literature at the University of Southern California. He moved to London in 1999. Since then he has published four novels. The Knife of Never Letting Go won numerous awards, including the Book Trust Teenage Prize, the Guardian Award, and the 2008 James Tiptree, Jr. Award. In January 2010 he won the 2009 Costa Book Award for the category children's book for The Ask and the Answer. He has also written a novel and a collection of short stories for adults, although he prefers not to categorise his writing in this way.
He taught creative writing at Oxford University and has written and reviewed for The Daily Telegraph, The TLS, The Sunday Telegraph and The Guardian.
Patrick Ness was Book Trust's first-ever online writer in residence.
Books
A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
(From an idea by Siobhan Dowd)
Illustrator: Jim Kay
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Interest age: 11-14
Reading age: 10+
Connor's mum has cancer and life is changing. There is the nightmare, then there is school, where people avoid him, or persecute him. And then there is the immense, mythic Monster.
And the Ocean Was Our Sky
Author: Patrick Ness Illustrator: Rovina Cai
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
In Patrick Ness’ amazing homage to Moby Dick, the worlds of ocean and sky are upturned, and it’s a whale that tells her version of the story of hunter and hunted. The writing is as beautiful as you might expect and the illustration is exceptional.
Monsters of Men
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 11+
A heart-stopping novel about power, survival, and the devastating realities of war
More Than This
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 14+
Reading age: 14+
Carnegie Medal-winning author Patrick Ness tackles weighty questions of life and death head on in this provocative and challenging novel. Combining elements of a sci-fi thriller with the abstract and philosophical, this is bold, unusual and beautifully written.
The Ask and the Answer
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 13+
Reading age: 11+
Themes of dictatorship, terrorism and privacy reign in Ness’s darker science fiction sequel to The Knife of Never Letting Go.
The Knife of Never Letting Go
Author: Patrick Ness
Publisher: Walker Books
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
The first in a series, this enthralling sci-fi/fantasy novel grips readers throughout, presenting them with tough questions about identity, ethics and the nature of truth.