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Philip Pullman CBE

Philip Pullman

Areas of Interest

Arts, Literature

Honorary Award

Honorary Doctor of Letters, 2013

Biography

Philip Pullman is a renowned author and illustrator, recognised around the world for his fantastical storytelling for both children and adults. Born in Norwich in 1946, Philip was educated in England, Zimbabwe and Australia, before his family settled in North Wales.

Philip took up teaching English at the age of 25 and taught at various Oxford Middle Schools. He eventually left to write full-time following the publication of his second children's book. A couple of years later he also began lecturing part-time at Westminster College, a higher-education institution in Oxford, leaving in 1996 to devote himself fully to his books, plays and illustrations. He continues to write occasionally for the Guardian, and in 2004 began giving visiting lectures back at his alma mater, Exeter College.

Named by The Times as one of the fifty greatest writers since 1945, Philip won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 1995 for Northern Lights followed by the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1996. In 2002, Amber Spyglass became the first children's book ever to win Whitbread Book of the Year, and this success was followed by Philip being awarded the biggest prize in children's literature: the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2005.

In 2007 he went on to be named 'Carnegie of Carnegies', the nation's all-time favourite Carnegie Medallist, when the public voted Northern Lights their favourite English-language children's book.

To date, Philip has published 31 books and two plays. His most widely recognised work is the His Dark Materials trilogy, comprising Northern Lights (known in North America as The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Two of his works have been made into movies and three have been televised by the BBC.

In 2004 Philip was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours for his services to literature and just this year, Philip was elected President of the Society of Authors, a position first held by Alfred, Lord Tennyson



Citation

Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Philip Pullman for the award of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.

Philip Pullman is a renowned author and illustrator, recognised around the world for his fantastical storytelling for both children and adults.

Born in Norwich in 1946, Philip was educated in England, Zimbabwe and Australia, before his family settled in North Wales. He went to secondary school in Harlech, and then on to Exeter College, Oxford, to read English.

Philip describes himself as "a passionate believer in the democracy of reading." He maintains a strong interest in education, which he says "leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well in our schools". His main concern is that an over-emphasis on testing and league tables has led to a lack of time and freedom for a true, imaginative and humane engagement with literature.

Although he admits to not having particularly enjoyed his own English studies at Exeter College, nevertheless he took up teaching English at the age of 25 and taught at various Oxford Middle Schools. He eventually left to write full-time following the publication of his second children's book. A couple of years later he also began lecturing part-time at Westminster College, a higher-education institution in Oxford, leaving in 1996 to devote himself fully to his books, plays and illustrations. He continues to write occasionally for the Guardian, and in 2004 began giving visiting lectures back at his alma mater, Exeter College.

Named by The Times as one of the fifty greatest writers since 1945, Philip won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in 1995 for Northern Lights followed by the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1996. In 2002, Amber Spyglass became the first children's book ever to win Whitbread Book of the Year, and this success was followed by Philip being awarded the biggest prize in children's literature: the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2005. The Swedish Arts Council, which sponsors the Award, described Philip's writing as:

"radically injecting new life into fantasy by introducing a variety of alternative worlds and by allowing good and evil to become ambiguous. He combines storytelling and psychological insight of the highest order."

In 2007 he went on to be named 'Carnegie of Carnegies', the nation's all-time favourite Carnegie Medallist, when the public voted Northern Lights their favourite English-language children's book.

To date, Philip has published 31 books and two plays. His most widely recognised work is the His Dark Materials trilogy, comprising Northern Lights (known in North America as The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass. Two of his works have been made into movies and three have been televised by the BBC.

Philip's widespread interests in the field of literature are revealed through his involvement in a number of organisations: his presidency of the Blake Society, celebrating the work of William Blake; his work as a judge of poetry prizes; his involvement with several universities; and his patronage of both the Shakespeare Schools Festival and the Palestine Festival of Literature. In 2004 Philip was awarded a CBE in the New Year's Honours for his services to literature and just this year, Philip was elected President of the Society of Authors, a position first held by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Philip has also been a vocal advocate of civil liberties, regularly criticising government encroachment into everyday life. In 2009, along with several other well-respected children's authors, he famously threatened to stop visiting schools in protest at new laws governing the way visiting authors are vetted.

Philip Pullman has won the hearts of both readers and literary critics around the world. His books have opened up thrilling new worlds for the enjoyment of children and adults alike, who, through him, have been encouraged to get stuck into that most delightful and rewarding of pursuits - reading. And he tells us, "I'm not in the message business, I'm in the Once Upon A Time business".

For his international success as an author and his services to literature, Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to present Philip Pullman for the award of Doctor of Letters, honoris causa.