Editing Mark Haddon

{{short description|English writer and illustrator (born 1962)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name         = Mark Haddon 
| image        = 
| caption      = 
| pseudonym    = 
| education    = MA, English Literature
| alma_mater   = [[Merton College, Oxford]]<br>[[Uppingham School]]<br>[[Spratton Hall School]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1962|9|26|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Northampton, Northamptonshire]], England
| death_date   = 
| nationality  = English
| occupation   = Writer, illustrator
| period       = 1987–present
| genre        = Novels, children's literature, poetry, screenplays, radio drama
| movement     = 
| notableworks = 
| awards       = {{ubl|
{{nowrap|[[Costa Book Awards|Whitbread Book of the Year]] 2003}}
|[[Guardian Children's Fiction Prize|Guardian Prize]] 2003 }}
| spouse       = [[Sos Eltis]]
| children     = 2

| signature    = 
| website      = {{URL|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==

In 2003, Haddon won the [[Whitbread Book Awards|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.<ref name=powells/> Despite being categorized as an adult book for some awards, Haddon also won the [[Guardian Children's Fiction Prize]] in 2003 for the book.<ref name=prize2003/> The book was also long-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize. <ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/aug/15/bookerprize2003.thebookerprize|title=Booker longlist includes Amis, snubs Carey|last=Jordan|first=Justine|date=2003-08-15|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-11-01|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> 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).<ref name="powells">Dave (10 October 2006), [http://www.powells.com/blog/interviews/the-curiously-irresistible-literary-debut-of-mark-haddon-by-dave "The curiously irresistible literary debut of Mark Haddon"], ''Powells.com''. Retrieved 31 August 2011.</ref> However, it has also been criticised by some autistic readers who objected to its 'depressing' depiction of Christopher, the autistic protagonist.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2016-04-03 |title=I have autism and the lack of authentic autistic voices in books angers me |url=https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/apr/03/autism-voices-books-awareness-week|first=Sara |last=Barrett |access-date=2024-09-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/stefg/article1512207.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207014107/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/public/stefg/article1512207.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=7 February 2015 |title=World's Richest Story Prize |work=[[The Sunday Times]] |date=1 February 2015}}</ref> He published a collection of short stories inspired by classical mythology called ''Dogs and Monsters'' in 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Alex|author-link=Alex Clark (journalist) |date=2024-08-25 |title=Dogs and Monsters by Mark Haddon review – myth and legend refocused in deft short stories |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/25/dogs-and-monsters-by-mark-haddon-review-myth-and-legend-refocused-in-deft-short-stories |access-date=2024-09-04 |work=The Observer |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref>

In 2023, he turned down an [[Order of the British Empire|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.'<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haddon |first=Mark |date=2024-07-03 |title=Mark Haddon: why I turned down an OBE |url=https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2024/07/mark-haddon-why-i-turned-down-an-obe |access-date=2024-09-07 |website=New Statesman |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Haddon is a [[vegetarian]]. He describes himself as a "hard-line [[atheist]]".<ref name="Times Online">{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article647138.ece |title=Inside a curious mind|newspaper=The Times|first=Simon|last=Crompton|date=23 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100604233218/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/features/article647138.ece |access-date= 11 May 2008|archive-date=4 June 2010 }}</ref><ref name="The Observer">{{cite news|url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/childrenandteens/story/0,,1189538,00.html |title=B is for bestseller|first=Mark|last=Haddon|newspaper=The Observer|date=11 April 2004|access-date=11 May 2008}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Haddon |first=Mark |date=2024-08-16 |title=The curious incident of the author who couldn't read or write: Mark Haddon on long Covid and overcoming five years of brain fog |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/article/2024/aug/16/the-curious-incident-of-the-author-who-couldnt-read-or-write-mark-haddon-on-long-covid-and-overcoming-five-years-of-brain-fog |access-date=2024-09-07 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>  

Haddon lives in [[Oxford]] with his wife [[Sos Eltis]], a Fellow of [[Brasenose College]], Oxford, and their two sons.<ref name="Times Online"/>

== Works ==
===For children===
*''Gilbert's Gobstopper'' (1987)
*''Toni and the Tomato Soup'' (1988)
*''A Narrow Escape for Princess Sharon'' (1989)
*''[[Agent Z#Agent Z Meets the Masked Crusader (1993)|Agent Z Meets the Masked Crusader]]'' (1993)
*''Titch Johnson, Almost World Champion'' (1993)
*''[[Agent Z Goes Wild (1994)|Agent Z Goes Wild]]'' (1994)
**''At Home''
**''At Playgroup''
**''In the Garden''
**''On Holiday''
*''[[Gridzbi Spudvetch!]]'' (1992)
*''The Real Porky Philips'' (1994)
*''[[Agent Z#Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars (1995)|Agent Z and the Penguin from Mars]]'' (1995)
*''The Sea of Tranquility'' (1996)
*''Secret Agent Handbook''
*''[[Agent Z#Agent Z and the Killer Bananas (2001)|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! (novel)|Boom! (An improved version of Gridzbi Spudvetch)]]'' (2009)

===For adults===
*''[[The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time]]'' (2003)
*''[[A Spot of Bother]]'' (2006)
*''[[The Red House (Haddon novel)|The Red House]]'' (2012)
*''[[The Pier Falls]]'' (2016)
*''[[The Porpoise]]'' (2019)
*''Social Distance'' (graphic short story, 2020)<ref>{{cite news|last=Haddon|first=Mark|title=Social Distance: a graphic short story for the coronavirus age by Mark Haddon|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/gallery/2020/may/20/social-distance-mark-haddon-graphic-short-story-coronavirus-age|work=The Guardian |access-date=20 May 2020|date=20 May 2020}}
</ref>
*''Dogs and Monsters'' (2024)

=== Poetry ===
* ''[[The Talking Horse and the Sad Girl and the Village Under the Sea  2007]]''

=== Play ===
*''[[Polar Peak (play)|Polar Bears]]'' (2010)

==See also==
{{Portal bar |Children's literature |Novels }} <!-- delete the word "bar" if there are enough ordinary See also -->

==References==
{{Reflist |25em |refs=
<ref name=prize2003>
[http://books.guardian.co.uk/guardianchildrensprize2003/0,,989688,00.html The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2003] (top page). ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 20 May 2013.</ref>
}}

==External links==
* {{official website }}
* {{british council |mark-haddon }}
* {{IMDb name|id=0352738}}
* [http://iai.tv/video/new-awakenings Mark Haddon] discussed the rituals and processes that guides his work.
* [http://www.markhaddon.com/curious.htm ''The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time''] (official)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928092747/http://www.aspotofbother.co.uk/ ''A Spot of Bother''] (official)
* [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/mark-haddon-first-he-tackled-aspergers-now-the-writer-is-putting-downs-syndrome-in-the-spotlight-with-a-new-drama-463565.html Interview: ''Coming Down the Mountain'']
* [[Hadley Freeman|Freeman, Hadley]]. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/may/29/hayfestival2006.hayfestival "Novelist Mark Haddon talks to Hadley Freeman"], ''[[The Guardian]]'' (London), 29 May 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2011.
* Haddon, Mark. [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/jun/29/writers.rooms.mark.haddon "Writers' rooms: Mark Haddon"], ''The Guardian'' (London), 29 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2011.

{{Mark Haddon}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haddon, Mark}}
[[Category:1962 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century English male writers]]
[[Category:21st-century English novelists]]
[[Category:Alumni of Merton College, Oxford]]
[[Category:English republicans]]
[[Category:Costa Book Award winners]]
[[Category:English atheists]]
[[Category:English children's writers]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:English male screenwriters]]
[[Category:English screenwriters]]
[[Category:Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners]]
[[Category:New Statesman people]]
[[Category:People educated at Uppingham School]]
[[Category:People from Northampton]]
[[Category:O. Henry Award winners]]