Elle McNicoll

Elle McNicoll (born 5 October 1992) is a Scottish bestselling children's writer. McNicoll has been described as "undoubtedly an outstanding new talent in children's books [who] will inspire readers young and old for generations to come".[1]

Elle McNicoll
Born5 October 1992
Edinburgh, Scotland
OccupationChildren's Author, screenwriter
NationalityScottish
Alma materUniversity College London
Years active2020-present
Notable worksA Kind of Spark
Show Us Who You Are
Notable awards2021 Waterstones Children's Book Prize
2021 Blue Peter Book Award

Biography

McNicoll's debut novel, A Kind of Spark (2020) follows the efforts of an autistic[2] eleven-year-old girl, Addie, to establish a memorial to the witch trials in her Scottish hometown. McNicoll is autistic herself.[3] The book was children's book of the week in The Times and The Sunday Times,[4][5] and won both the Overall and Younger Fiction prizes at the 2021 Waterstones Children's Book Prize.[6] It also won the Blue Peter Book Award for Best Story, voted for by children.[7] McNicoll was also nominated for the Branford Boase Award [8] and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. McNicoll's debut was also named Overall Book of the Year by Blackwell's , beating titles in the Adult Market.[9]

Her second novel, Show Us Who You Are, was published in March, 2021, and was Children's Book of the Week in The Times.[10] It was also the Children's Book of the Month, as chosen by Blackwell's.[11] It was nominated for Best Children's Fiction in the 2021 Books Are My Bag Awards, and McNicoll was also nominated for Best Breakthrough Author.[12]

Her third novel Like A Charm was published in February 2022 by Knights Of and was also Children's Book of the Week in The Times,[13] as well as being reviewed as 'Another fiercely gripping, superbly original story' by The Guardian.[14] In 2022 McNicoll also wrote a story as part of the crime anthology The Very Merry Murder Club [15] edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens.

McNicoll was awarded an honour by the Schneider Family Book Award in 2022 for the US edition of A Kind of Spark.

A Kind of Spark was optioned for a CBBC television series, with McNicoll acting as co-head writer on the programme.[16] It premiered on BBC iPlayer in the UK on 31 March 2023.[17]

McNicoll's debut novel was listed as number 75 in The 100 Greatest Children's Books of All Time [18]

McNicoll also wrote and recorded an essay for BBC Radio 3's The Essay. [19] The subject was Nora Ephron, a heroine of McNicoll's.

She currently lives in London.

Advocacy

McNicoll has been an outspoken advocate for better representations of neurodiversity in publishing.[20] In 2022, McNicoll established The Adrien Prize, a prize for traditionally published children's books with a disabled lead character.[21] The longlist for The Adrien Prize 2022 was announced on twitter and included: The Night the Moon Went Out by Samantha Baines, The Secret of Haven Point by Lisette Auton, A Flash of Fireflies by Aisha Bushby, Wilder Than Midnight by Cerrie Burnell, The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards and The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks by Emily Kenny.[22]

Works
  • A Kind of Spark. London: Knights of, 2020.
  • Show Us Who You Are. London: Knights of, 2021.
  • Like A Charm. London: Knights of, 2022.
  • Like A Curse. London: Knights of, 2023.
  • A Kind of Spark, CBBC television series, 2023.

References
  1. "Waterstones prize winner Elle McNicoll: 'I never saw autistic girls in books'". TheGuardian.com. July 2021.
  2. McNicoll, Elle (6 July 2020). ""I write about anything and everything, but I always write about neurodiversity": Elle McNicoll on being a neurodivergent author". BookTrust. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  3. McNicoll, Elle. "Stories from the Spectrum: Elle McNicoll". National Autistic Society. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  4. Alex O'Connell, Children's Book of the Week: A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, The Times, 6 June 2020. Accessed 7 June 2020.
  5. Nicolette Jones, Children's book of the week: A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll, Sunday Times, 7 June 2020. Accessed 7 June 2020.
  6. "'A Kind of Spark' wins Waterstones Children's Book Prize". Books+Publishing. 2 July 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  7. "Blue Peter Book Awards 2022".
  8. "Getten, McNicoll, Mann and Pearson feature on Branford Boase shortlist | the Bookseller".
  9. "McNicoll bags Blackwell's Book of the Year | the Bookseller".
  10. O'Connell, Alex. "Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll review — tween boy-meets-girl love story meets sci-fi horror".
  11. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Blackwell's Children's Book of the Month, March 2021 - Show Us Who You Are. YouTube.
  12. "Rashford, Sethi and McAnulty on Books Are My Bag Readers Awards shortlists".
  13. O'Connell, Alex. "Like a Charm by Elle McNicoll review — a wildly imaginative world of secrets and spells". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  14. "Children's and teens roundup – the best new picture books and novels". the Guardian. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  15. "I Will Be Writing a Neurodivergent Detective Story for Crime Anthology | Blog | Elle McNicoll". I Will Be Writing a Neurodivergent Detective Story for Crime Anthology | Blog | Elle McNicoll. 16 May 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  16. "BBC orders 'A Kind Of Spark' adaptation from Canada's 9 Story Media". TBI Vision. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  17. "A Kind of Spark to premiere on BBC iPlayer, CBBC, BYUtv and CBC!". 24 March 2023.
  18. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20230522-the-100-greatest-childrens-books-of-all-time
  19. https://www.bbc.co.uk/schedules/p00fzl8t/2023/w39
  20. "Elle McNicoll on being a neurodivergent author | BookTrust".
  21. "Prizes for disabled writers: Four awards celebrating disability". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  22. "The Adrien Prize". Twitter. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
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