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Katherine Rundell

キャサリン・ランデル

Kyasarin Randeru

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1987-07-10 （Pembury, England）
Nationality
United Kingdom, England
Languages
English
Residence History
Harare, Zimbabwe → Brussels, Belgium → Oxford, England

Career

Occupations
Author, Playwright, Academic
Active Years
2011-
Affiliations
All Souls College, Oxford, Royal Society of Literature
Memberships
Fellow of All Souls College, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
Influenced By
John Donne
Nominations
Carnegie Medal shortlist (Rooftoppers)

Education

St Catherine's College, Oxford
Undisclosed
Degree: BA
Period: 2005-2008
Year of Graduation: 2008
Country: United Kingdom
Developed interest in rooftop climbing during undergraduate studies
All Souls College, Oxford
English Literature
Degree: PhD
Period: 2008-
Year of Graduation: 2016
Country: United Kingdom
Doctoral thesis on textual afterlives of John Donne'}}],
British School of Brussels
Undisclosed
Period: 14歳時
Country: Belgium
Attended while family lived in Brussels

Awards

Waterstones Children's Book Prize
2014
Work: Rooftoppers
Category: 全体賞
Organization: Waterstones
Result: 受賞
Blue Peter Book Award
2014
Work: Rooftoppers
Category: ベストストーリー
Organization: BookTrust
Result: 受賞
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award
2015
Work: Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms
Category: フィクション
Organization: The Horn Book
Result: 受賞
Costa Book Award
2017
Work: The Explorer
Category: 子供書部門
Organization: Costa Coffee
Result: 受賞
Baillie Gifford Prize
2022
Work: Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
Category: ノンフィクション
Organization: Baillie Gifford Foundation
Result: 受賞
Waterstones Book of the Year
2023
Work: Impossible Creatures
Organization: Waterstones
Result: 受賞
British Book Awards
2024
Category: 年間最優秀作家
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Rooftoppers

2013 Children's fiction

Sophie, orphaned in a shipwreck, searches for her mother while rooftop climbing in Paris.

AdventureFamilyFreedom
Translations
  • Le ciel nous appartient (French)

The Explorer

2017 Children's fiction

Children survive plane crash in Amazon rainforest and uncover a secret.

SurvivalNatureFriendship

Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne

2022 Non-fiction/Biography

Biography exploring the transformations in John Donne's life and thought.

LiteratureTransformationRenaissance

Impossible Creatures

2023 Fantasy children's fiction

Fantasy adventure named Waterstones Book of the Year 2023.

FantasyAdventureCreativity
Adaptations
  • [Live-action film] Impossible Creatures

Bibliography

  • The Girl Savage (2011)
  • Rooftoppers (2013)
  • Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (2014)
  • The Wolf Wilder (2015)
  • The Explorer (2017)
  • Life According to Saki (play, 2017)
  • The Good Thieves (2019)
  • Why You Should Read Children's Books (2019)
  • Super-Infinite (2022)
  • The Golden Mole (2022)
  • Impossible Creatures (2023)
  • The Poisoned King (2025)

Translations of Works

  • Rooftoppers → French: Le ciel nous appartient

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Vivid proseAdventurous narrative
Recurring Motifs
AdventureNatureWilderness

Legacy

Prominent British children's author and academic, youngest Baillie Gifford Prize winner for John Donne biography.

In Popular Culture

  • Disney acquired film rights for Impossible Creatures

Trivia

  • Hobbies include tightrope walking and roof walking
  • Grew up in Zimbabwe climbing trees barefoot
  • Often jokes about Belgium in her books