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Livi Michael

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Livi Michael
File:Livi Michael.jpg
BornOlivia Wood (Birth Name)
(1960-03-15) March 15, 1960 (age 64)
Stalybridge,Greater Manchester,UK
OccupationNovelist
NationalityBritish
CitizenshipBritish
EducationB.A (English), Ph.D
GenreFiction
Notable worksUnder a Thin Moon (1992),
Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz(2002),
The Whispering Road(2005)
ChildrenPaul and Ben
Website
www.livimichael.com

Personal Life

Livi Michael ,also known as, Olivia Michael, born March. 15, 1960 in Manchester, England, daughter to civil servant Ann Wood, is a British fiction authoress who has published a total of 13 children and adult novels[1]. Michael has been married twice, divorced from her first husband and separated from her second husband, poet Ian Pope[1]. She is blessed with two sons, Paul and Ben;one from each marriage[1]. During spare time Michael’s enjoys singing and T'ai chi ch'uan [2]. Michael attended Tameside College of Technology;University of Leeds, B.A. in English, completing first-class-honors in 1989, and completed a Ph. D in 1993. Michael's love for writing began at the age of 7 with poetry [3]. She describes her favourite childhood memory as, "the view of the sky from the balcony of the flat where I grew up" [2]. She continues writing as she raises her two sons inDiggle, Saddleworth, where she resides till today [2].

Favourite book Lord of the Rings[2]
Favourite Song Feeling Good-Nina Simone[2]
Favourite Film Afterlife (2009) [2]
Most Treasured Possession Hamster Frank.[2]
Favourite Memory The view of the sky from the balcony of the flat where she grew up.[2]
Favourite Place in the World Iceland

Career

Livi Michael began to write when she was just a child of seven years old [4], her career as a novelist however, really started with her first novel, Under a Thin Moon in 1992 [5]. Throughout her career, Michael has had a total of 13 books published between the years of 1992 and 2008 [5]. In addition to her writing, Michael has also worked as a university lecturer teaching Creative Writing, and ran reading groups about Women’s Fiction [5]. Michael began writing novels for adults in 1992, and continued to write three more novels for adults before writing her first children’s novel in 2002 called Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz [5]. While Michael was in the process of writing her first novel, she was also continuing her education which led her to complete her doctorate in 1993 at the University of Leeds [6]. There she earned a dissertation that was titled “Towards a Theory of Working Class Writing: Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s A Scots Quair in the Context of Earlier Working Class Fiction . Michael continued writing and completed her second novel and also taught English literature and creative writing part-time until 1998 atManchester Metropolitan University and proceeded to write her third novel as well [6]. Michael’s fourth novel was published in 2000 [6]. Michael began teaching English literature and creative writing for the Department of Cultural Studies atSheffield Hallam University and continued to teach while also spending her time writing novels for children [6]. In addition to teaching and writing, she also gives guest lectures, participates in writing workshops [6] and makes school visits where she gives readings and answers students questions [3].

Writing Influences

One of the factors that influenced Michael’s writing was her son’s hamster named “Frank.” She describes Frank as an “adventurous hamster, and something of anescapologist” [6]. This is a contributing factor to what lead to the creation of the Frank series [6]. The first children’s novel that Michael published was called, “Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz” (2002) [6]. This novel is what gave rise to the success of Michael’s writing career in children’sliterature.

In addition, Livi Micheal was raised in a single parent home by her mother. Also, Michael herself was an unemployed single mother of two[6].She is aware of the effects of poverty on women as she is involved with women’s organizations and community centers[6].This has lead to her understanding of women and the variety of perspectives they bring to similar situation[6]. She highlights the world of poor and working class women through characters in her novel[6]. She does this by writing in a limited third person which allows the reader “to hear [the characters’] usually silenced voices”[6].

Notable Works

Livi Michael began her writing career with adult fiction. Amongst her books in this genre,Under a Thin Moon (1992) and Their Angel Reach (1994) were hugely praised for their portrayal of the underprivileged and working class women[6]. However, Under a Thin Moon established Michael as a prolific writer and can be considered as her most remarkable novel in this genre. It depicts that how the lives of four working class women are tied together because of their class and gender. The story is set up in Manchester council estate during the period of British Conservative politician Margaret Thatcher [7]. Political elements such as capitalism and patriarchy are prominent in the novel and are criticised for the impoverished state of these women. Each of these women struggle with poverty and unemployment which leads to the development of their similar identities despite their differing circumstances [7]. Livi Michael's realistic approach in this novel makes it a valuable contribution to the works of fiction that deal with working class women.

Amongst her novels for younger children,Frank And The Black Hamster Of Narkiz (2002) is the most popular novel. It is a story of Hamster named Frank who is brave and courageous unlike the other hamsters who are gentle, timid and domesticated creatures.[8] [9]. Frank has a mission and a motto - 'Courage!’ [9]. He escapes from his cage and undertakes an adventurous journey to meet the mystreious black hamster of Narkiz.[8].After the success of the first novel, Michael went on to write a series of novels on Frank's adventures.Livi has done an excellent job in developing her characters, across the four books and has been extremely successful in reaching out to young readers with this series.[9]

Michael also wrote books for the young adults and The Whispering Road (2005) is the most popular amongst them. The novel represents the real but dark issues such as death , disease and abandonment through the lives of siblings Joe and Anne[10]. It begins with their escape from slavery of a cruel farmer, in the hope of finding their lost mother[10]. However, Joe's immature behaviour leads him to get separated from his sister along the journey. His guilt and deep love for his sister comples him to find her again which generates readers interest and sympathy towards his character[10]. Livi Michael sustains a spirit of kindness and hope throughout to balance out the dark and disturbing elements of the novel[10]. The amalgamation of accurate historical facts and the elements of fantasy make it extremely interesting and appealing to the young readers[10].

Awards and Honors.

Books Awards
Under a Thin Moon (1992) Arthur Welton Award[5],Society of Authors award [1], both 1992.
Their Angel Reach (1994) John Steinbeck Award shortlist, and John Llewellyn Rhys Award shortlist [1], both 1994, and Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize [5], 1995, a Society of Authors award.
All the Dark Air (1997) MIND Book of the Year/Allen Lane Award shortlist [5], 1997, Society of Authors Award [1].
Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz (2002) Branford Boase Award shortlist [1], 2002.
The Whispering Road (2005) Bronze award, Nestl é Children's Book Prize [1], 2005.

Bibliography [5]

  • 2009 Faire Heart, Puffin
  • 2008 Sky Wolves, Puffin
  • 2007 City of Dogs, Putnam
  • 2006 The Angel Stone, Puffin
  • 2006 Seventeen Times as High as the Moon, Orchard
  • 2005 The Whispering Road, Puffin
  • 2005 Frank and the New Narkiz, Puffin
  • 2004 Frank and the Flames of Truth, Puffin
  • 2003 Frank and the Chamber of Fear, Puffin
  • 2002 Frank and the Black Hamster of Narkiz, Puffin
  • 2000 Inheritance, Penguin
  • 1997 All the Dark Air, Secker & Warburg
  • 1994 Their Angel Reach, Secker & Warburg
  • 1992 Under a Thin Moon, Secker & Warburg


References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2687900055.html
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h http://www.puffin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000046347,00.html
  3. ^ a b http://www.livimichael.com/author/index.com.htm
  4. ^ http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000046347,00.html
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h http://literature.britishcouncil.org/livi-michael Cite error: The named reference "britishlit" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n http://www.bookrags.com/biography/livi-michael-dlb/
  7. ^ a b http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/0749397225
  8. ^ a b http://www.cool-reads.co.uk/review.asp?ID=1682
  9. ^ a b c [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Frank-Black-Hamster-Narkiz-Michael/dp/0141314281
  10. ^ a b c d e http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/0399243577.asp

http://www.livimichael.com/

http://www.livimichael.com/blog/2006/09/welcome-to-livis-blog.html

http://book-covers.lucywho.com/livi-michael-book-covers-t604805.html

https://www.radiowaves.co.uk/story/15111/title/aninterviewwithlivimichaels

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