‘The True Tale of the Monster Billy Dean’ is the first novel for adults by UEA alumnus David Almond and is published by Viking this week. David (pictured) graduated from UEA in 1973 with a BA in English and American Studies, and published his first novel for children, ‘Skellig’, in 1998, having previously published two short story collections for adults.
‘Skellig’ won that year’s Carnegie medal and the Whitbread children’s prize. A prequel to ‘Skellig’ – ‘My Name is Mina’ – was longlisted for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize earlier this year. Last year he was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen medal, chosen by an international jury and described as “the world’s most prestigious prize in children’s literature”.
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