Peter Carter (author)

Peter Carter (13 August 1929 – 21 July 1999) was a British writer of children's books, primarily historical novels. He won several awards: the Guardian Prize, two Young Observer Prizes, and the German Preis der Leseratten. His books were shortlisted for many more prizes, and were translated into at least six languages, from Japanese to Portuguese.[1]

Not to be confused with the British architect Peter James Carter (1927–2017), author of Mies van der Rohe at Work (van der Rohe at WorldCat).

Peter Carter
Peter Carter at an RCN conference
Peter Carter at an RCN conference
Born13 August 1929
Manchester, England
Died21 July 1999 (1999-07-22) (aged 69)
Warwick, England
OccupationChildren's book author
NationalityBritish
EducationWadham College (MA, 1962)
Notable awardsGuardian Children's Fiction Prize (1981)
Spouse
  • Lois Wilkinson
  • Gudrun Willege

Personal life and education

Carter was born in Manchester, one of eight children. He left school at 14 and later took evening classes in art and philosophy, before entering Wadham College, Oxford at age 30.[1] There, he received the M.A. in English Literature in 1962.[2]

Carter's first wife Lois Wilkinson died after one year, during his time at Oxford.[1] He later married Gudrun Willege, a German photographer[2] —or Ulrike Willige[1]— and moved to Hamburg, Germany, in 1976.[2] Later they divorced and remarried; he moved or visited back and forth.[1] He married four times in all, and had one stepson.[1]

On 21 July 1999 Carter died from abdominal hæmorrhage while writing at his home in Warwick.[1]

Career

Carter worked as a school teacher from 1963 to 1976, then a full-time writer until his death in 1999.

For Under Goliath (Oxford, 1977) he was a commended runner-up for the Carnegie Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book by a British subject.[3][lower-alpha 1] He won Guardian Children's Fiction Prize for The Sentinels,[4] published by Oxford University Press in 1981. The annual book award is judged by a panel of British children's writers and recognises the year's best book by an author who has not yet won it.[5]

Awards and honours
Awards for Carter's writing
Year Title Award Result Ref.
1978 Under Goliath Carnegie Medal Commended [3]
1981 The Sentinels Guardian Children's Fiction Prize Winner [4][5]
1981 The Sentinels Premio Europeo di Letteratura Giovanile Winner
1982 Children of the Book Young Observer/Rank Organisation Fiction prize Winner
1982 Children of the Book Preis der Leseratten Winner
1987 Bury the Dead Young Observer Teenage Fiction Award Winner [6]

Publications

All of Carter's books were published by Oxford University Press.[1]

  • The Black Lamp (1973), illustrated by David Harris
  • The Gates of Paradise (1974), illus. Fermin Rocker
  • Madatan (1974), illus. Victor Ambrus
  • Mao (1976), a biography
  • Under Goliath (1977)
  • The Sentinels (1980)
  • Children of the Book (1982)
  • Captain Teachum's Buried Treasure (1989), illus. Korky Paul
  • Bury the Dead (1987)
  • Leaving Cheyenne (1990); U.S. title, Borderlands
  • The Hunted (1993)
  • Fairy Tales from Grimm retold by Carter (Oxford, 1999)

See also

Notes
  1. Today there are usually eight books on the Carnegie Medal shortlist. According to CCSU, there were about 160 commendations of two kinds in 49 years from 1954 to 2002, including Carter and two others for 1977.

References
  1. "Obituary: Peter Carter" Archived 14 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Elizabeth Hodgkin. The Independent. 24 August 1999.
  2. "Peter Carter". Library of Congress Authorities. Retrieved 30 September 2013. LC cites Contemporary Authors Online Archived 14 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 2003 (use during 2003 or use of 2003 edition?).
  3. "Carnegie Medal Award" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. 2007(?). Curriculum Lab. Elihu Burritt Library. Central Connecticut State University (CCSU). Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  4. "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched". The Guardian. 12 March 2001. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  5. "Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners" Archived 27 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. The Guardian. 12 March 2001. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  6. MacDonald, Sandy (17 January 1988). "CHILDREN'S BOOKS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 June 2023.

WARNING: WorldCat conflates at least two distinct writers named Peter Carter. See the header far above.

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