Author Birthday – 5 October – Michael Morpurgo

Happy Birthday, Michael Morpurgo, born on 5 October 1943.

Michael Morpurgo answers your questions

1. How many books have you written? Over one hundred. Private Peaceful was the hundredth. Sound a lot but that’s fat ones, thin ones. All sorts.
2. Where do you write? On my bed where I’m most comfortable. I pile the pillows up behind me, settle back and write by hand with my exercise book on my knees.
3. Are the stories true? With each one there is an element of truth. I weave different truths into the same story to make another kind of truth.
4. What is the favourite book that you have written? The Butterfly Lion or Kensuke’s Kingdom or War Horse or Private Peaceful.
5. Who’s your favourite author? Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island), Rudyard Kipling (The Just So Stories) and Ted Hughes (The Iron Man).
6. How long does it take to write a book? I usually spend several months dreaming it up in my head – I call it my ‘dreamtime’, the most important part of my story inventing when I try to weave the story together, do my research and find the right voice for the story. Once I begin writing, I write very fast and will finish a book in two or three months. Then revising it might take another month. So, on average, a novel takes upwards of 6 months to write.

Read: Michael Morpurgo’s 10 Rules For Writers

Michael Morpurgo, OBE, is an award-winning English author, poet, playwright and librettist, best known for his work in children’s literature. He has written over 150 books loved by readers around the world. His best-known work, War Horse, was adapted into a multi-Oscar-nominated film by Steven Spielberg and into a widely acclaimed play by the National Theatre. His work is noted for its magical storytelling and for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, and for characters’ relationships with nature. In 2003 Michael became the third Children’s Laureate, a position he helped to create with the poet Ted Hughes. With his wife, Clare, he set up the charity Farms for City Children, and for their pioneering work they were both awarded the MBE in 1999. In 2017 he was awarded a knighthood for services to literature and charity.

Image Source: Georges Seguin (Okki), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Michael_Morpurgo_20090315_Salon_du_livre_1.jpg
Writing Rules Source Questions Source

by Amanda Patterson
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