Author Peter Dickinson Dies Aged 88
It is with very great sadness that the death is announced of author and poet Peter Dickinson O.B.E. Peter died in Winchester on 16 December 2015 (his 88th birthday) after a brief illness. His family was by his side.
Peter Malcolm de Brissac Dickinson was born in Africa, but raised and educated in England. From 1952 to 1969 he was on the editorial staff of Punch, and then earned his living writing fiction of various kinds for adults and children. He wrote almost sixty books and has been published in 53 languages around the world.
Amongst many other awards, Peter Dickinson has been nine times short-listed for the prestigious Carnegie medal for children’s literature and was the first author to win it twice: Tulku (1979) and City of Gold (1980).
Peter Dickinson was also the first author to win the Crime Writers’ Association Golden Dagger for two consecutive novels: Skin Deep (1968), and A Pride of Heroes (1969).
His books have been nominated for and won many awards, including: The Boston-Globe Horn Book Award; The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize; The Whitbread Children’s Fiction Prize; The Michael L. Printz Award.
A collection of Peter Dickinson’s poetry, The Weir, was published in 2009. His last book, In the Palace of the Khans, was published in 2012 and was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
Peter Dickinson served as Chair of the Management Committee of the Society of Authors for two years: 1978-79 and 1979-80 and has been on the SoA Council since 1980. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1999. He was awarded an OBE for services to literature in 2009.
Peter is survived by his four children from his first marriage, six grand-children and his second wife, author Robin McKinley.
Peter’s family has suggested that rather than sending flowers, donations in Peter’s memory may be sent to his nominated charities: Save The Children; The Alzheimer’s Society; Medecins Sans Frontieres
Contact details:
e-mail: info@peterdickinson.com
website: www.peterdickinson.com