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Kate Thompson

ケイト・トンプソン

Keito Tonpuson

Aliases: Katharine Anna Thompson

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1956-11-10 （Halifax, West Yorkshire）
Nationality
British, Irish
Languages
English
Residence History
Halifax, Yorkshire, England → Ireland (since 1981) → Inagh, Ireland (since 1984)

Career

Occupations
writer, children's novelist, fiddler
Active Years
1992-2024
Influenced By
E. P. Thompson, Dorothy Thompson
Nominations
Shortlisted for Booktrust Teenage Prize 2008 (Creature of the Night), Shortlisted for Carnegie Medal 2009 (Creature of the Night)

Awards

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
2005
Work: The New Policeman
Organization: The Guardian
Result: winner
Whitbread Children's Book Award
2005
Work: The New Policeman
Result: winner
Dublin Airport Authority Children's Book of the Year Award
2005
Work: The New Policeman
Result: winner
Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award
2001
Work: The Beguilers
Result: winner
Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award
2002
Work: The Alchemist's Apprentice
Result: winner
Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award
2004
Work: Annan Water
Result: winner
Bisto Children's Book of the Year Award
2005
Work: The New Policeman
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The New Policeman

2005 Fantasy

Set in modern Kinvara and the Irish mythological Tír na nÓg, dealing with time and Irish traditional music.

Irish mythologyTimeIrish traditional music

Switchers

1997 Fantasy

Trilogy about children who can switch into animals.

ShapeshiftingGenetic engineering

The Beguilers

2001 Fantasy

Bibliography

  • There is Something (1992)
  • Down Among the Gods (1997)
  • Thin Air (1999)
  • An Act of Worship (2000)
  • Switchers (1997)
  • Midnight's Choice (1998)
  • Wild Blood (1999)
  • The Missing Link (2000)
  • Only Human (2001)
  • Origins (2002)
  • The Beguilers (2001)
  • The Alchemist's Apprentice (2002)
  • Annan Water (2004)
  • The Last of the High Kings (2007)
  • The White Horse Trick (2010)
  • The Fourth Horseman (2006)
  • Creature of the Night (2008)
  • Wanted! (2010)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Children's fantasyDeals with consequences of genetic engineeringStories set in Ireland
Recurring Motifs
Irish mythologyIrish traditional musicFiddling

Legacy

British-Irish writer best known for children's fantasy novels, winner of multiple awards including Guardian and Whitbread for The New Policeman. Also an accomplished fiddler.

Trivia

  • Youngest child of social historians and peace activists E. P. Thompson and Dorothy Thompson.
  • Accomplished fiddler interested in Irish traditional music, reflected in her works.
  • Has lived in Ireland since 1981, with many books set there.