Mark Haddon

English writer and illustrator (born 1962)

Mark Haddon

Born|  (1962-09-26) 26 September 1962 (age 62)
Northampton, Northamptonshire, England
Occupation| Writer, illustrator
Nationality| English
Education| MA, English Literature
Alma mater| Merton College, Oxford
Uppingham School
Spratton Hall School
Period| 1987–present
Genre| Novels, children's literature, poetry, screenplays, radio drama
Notable awards|

* Whitbread Book of the Year 2003
* Guardian Prize 2003

Spouse| Sos Eltis
Children| 2
Website
markhaddon.com

Mark Haddon (born 26 September 1962) is an English novelist, best known for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003). He won the Whitbread Award, the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award, the Guardian Prize, and a Commonwealth Writers' Prize for his work.

## Life, work and studies

[edit]

In 2003, Haddon won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award—in the Novels rather than Children's Books category—for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He also won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize in the Best First Book category, as The Curious Incident was considered his first book written for adults.[1] Despite being categorized as an adult book for some awards, Haddon also won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2003 for the book.[2] The book was also long-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize. [3] It was adapted as a stage play and was successful for a long run.

The Curious Incident is written from the perspective of a 15-year-old boy, Christopher John Francis Boone. In an interview at Powells.com, Haddon claimed that this was the first book that he wrote intentionally for an adult audience; he was surprised when his publisher suggested marketing it to both adult and child audiences (it has been very successful with adults and children alike).[1] However, it has also been criticised by some autistic readers who objected to its 'depressing' depiction of Christopher, the autistic protagonist.[4]

Haddon's short story "The Pier Falls" was longlisted for the 2015 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, the richest prize in the world for a single short story.[5] He published a collection of short stories inspired by classical mythology called Dogs and Monsters in 2024.[6]

In 2023, he turned down an OBE for his services to literature, saying: 'I would feel uneasy accepting an honour which presumes an uncritical acceptance of the British Empire as a good thing.'[7]

## Personal life

[edit]

Haddon is a vegetarian. He describes himself as a "hard-line atheist".[8][9] In 2019, he had heart bypass surgery. Later he contracted COVID-19 and, as he recovered, was diagnosed with long COVID. He has struggled with "brain fog" that left him unable to read or write. In 2024 he spoke to The Guardian about his five-year-long process of partial recovery, saying that although he still could not read properly, the fog was "starting to thin a little".[10]

Haddon lives in Oxford with his wife Sos Eltis, a Fellow of Brasenose College, Oxford, and their two sons.[8]

## Works

[edit]

### For children

[edit]

* Gilbert's Gobstopper (1987)
* Toni and the Tomato Soup (1988)
* A Narrow Escape for Princess Sharon (1989)
* Agent Z Meets the Masked Crusader (1993)
* Titch Johnson, Almost World Champion (1993)
* Agent Z Goes Wild (1994)
* At Home
* At Playgroup
* In the Garden
* On Holiday
* Gridzbi Spudvetch! (1992)
* The Real Porky Philips (1994)
* Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars (1995)
* The Sea of Tranquility (1996)
* Secret Agent Handbook
* Agent Z and the Killer Bananas (2001)
* Ocean Star Express (2001)
* The Ice Bear's Cave (2002)
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003)
* Boom! (An improved version of Gridzbi Spudvetch) (2009)

### For adults

[edit]

* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003)
* A Spot of Bother (2006)
* The Red House (2012)
* The Pier Falls (2016)
* The Porpoise (2019)
* Social Distance (graphic short story, 2020)[11]
* Dogs and Monsters (2024)

### Poetry

[edit]

* The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea 2007

### Play

[edit]

* Polar Bears (2010)

## See also

[edit]

Portals:

* Children's literature
* Novels

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Dave (10 October 2006), "The curiously irresistible literary debut of Mark Haddon", Powells.com. Retrieved 31 August 2011.
2. ^ The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2003 (top page). The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
3. ^ Jordan, Justine (15 August 2003). "Booker longlist includes Amis, snubs Carey". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
4. ^ Barrett, Sara (3 April 2016). "I have autism and the lack of authentic autistic voices in books angers me". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
5. ^ "World's Richest Story Prize". The Sunday Times. 1 February 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015.
6. ^ Clark, Alex (25 August 2024). "Dogs and Monsters by Mark Haddon review – myth and legend refocused in deft short stories". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
7. ^ Haddon, Mark (3 July 2024). "Mark Haddon: why I turned down an OBE". New Statesman. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
8. ^ a b Crompton, Simon (23 September 2006). "Inside a curious mind". The Times. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
9. ^ Haddon, Mark (11 April 2004). "B is for bestseller". The Observer. Retrieved 11 May 2008.
10. ^ Haddon, Mark (16 August 2024). "The curious incident of the author who couldn't read or write: Mark Haddon on long Covid and overcoming five years of brain fog". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 September 2024.
11. ^ Haddon, Mark (20 May 2020). "Social Distance: a graphic short story for the coronavirus age by Mark Haddon". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 May 2020.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website
* Mark Haddon at British Council: Literature
* Mark Haddon at IMDb
* Mark Haddon discussed the rituals and processes that guides his work.
* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (official)
* A Spot of Bother (official)
* Interview: Coming Down the Mountain
* Freeman, Hadley. "Novelist Mark Haddon talks to Hadley Freeman", The Guardian (London), 29 May 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
* Haddon, Mark. "Writers' rooms: Mark Haddon", The Guardian (London), 29 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2011.

* v
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Works by Mark Haddon

Youth titles|

* Gilbert's Gobstopper
* Mikie Joy
* Toni and the Tomato Soup
* A Narrow Escape for Princess Sharon
* Agent Z Meets the Masked Crusader
* Titch Johnson, Almost World Champion
* Agent Z Goes Wild
* At Home
* At Playgroup
* In the Garden
* On Holiday
* The Real Porky Phillips
* Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars
* The Sea of Tranquility
* Secret Agent Handbook
* Agent Z and the Killer Bananas
* Ocean Star Express
* The Ice Bear's Cave
* Gridzbi Spudvetch!
* Footprints on the Moon
* Boom!

Adult titles|

* The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
* A Spot of Bother
* The Red House
* The Pier Falls
* The Porpoise

Poetry|

* The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea

Television|

* Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars
* Fungus the Bogeyman
* Coming Down the Mountain

Plays|

* Polar Bears

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