Author Nominee: USA

Lloyd Alexander
United States of America, Author

In creating characters, if writers can draw on any of the infinite facets of their own personalities, I think they're dealing from strength. Instead of intellectual fabrications, the characters have the spark of life. Sometimes they can even turn out more interesting than their author.

– Lloyd Alexander

Lloyd Alexander's masterful children's literature has spanned decades. His character-rich fantasies, almost 40 titles in all, are heightened by his lively descriptions, and have won him numerous awards, including two National Book Awards and a Newbery Medal. He was also awarded three Lifetime Achievement awards.

Lloyd Alexander was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1924. Unable to afford college fees, he went to work in a bank at the age of fifteen. During World War II he joined the army. Sent to Wales as part of his training, he was captivated by a land whose mythology would later inform much of his work. After the war, he was assigned to counter-intelligence in Paris, and on discharge he attended the University of Paris, where he met his wife.

Returning to Philadelphia, he worked in advertising and publishing, while writing many novels which were all rejected. Then he began to write for young people, an experience which he found creative and liberating. Researching an earlier novel, he discovered material on Welsh mythology; the result was The Book of Three and the subsequent chronicles of Prydain. This series brought him acclaim, and a later title, The High King, won the Newbery Medal in 1966. His fantasy is notable for its focus on character rather than plot, and for its humour and irony; Alexander believed that fantasy is but a way to express feelings about people and human relationships. His books have been translated into 25 languages, have been dramatised as stage, television and radio plays and serials and stage musicals, and The Black Cauldron was made into an animated film by Disney.

Lloyd Alexander died in 2007, after a long illness. He is missed greatly in the world of literature, but his memorial is in the body of work he left behind.