The Dark Flight Down
Marcus Sedgwick | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 April 1968 Preston, Kent, England |
| Died | 15 November 2022 (aged 54) |
| Occupation(s) | Author, illustrator |
| Years active | 1994–2022 |
| Known for | Young adult and children's literature |
Marcus Sedgwick (8 April 1968 – 15 November 2022) was a distinguished British author and illustrator renowned for his contributions to young adult and children’s literature, including picture books, nonfiction, and novels aimed at adult readers. His most celebrated publications primarily catered to a young adult audience.
His 2001 novel Floodland received the Branford Boase Award, while The Dark Horse (2002) earned a place on the shortlist for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The American edition of his 2011 work Midwinterblood was honored with the 2014 Michael L. Printz Award bestowed by the American Library Association.
Early life
Sedgwick was born in Preston, Kent, England, and had one brother along with a half-sister. He attended Sir Roger Manwood's School, an all-boys grammar institution located in Sandwich, Kent. His literary inspirations included Susan Cooper’s The Dark Rising series and Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast. He pursued higher education in mathematics and politics at the University of Bath. His father died when Sedgwick was twenty years old.
Career
Prior to dedicating himself fully to writing, Sedgwick held positions as a bookseller at Heffers and worked in sales for children’s publishers Ragged Bears and Walker Books. He began to focus seriously on his writing career starting in 1994.
His first published novel, Floodland (2000), which centers on Zoe’s experiences on an island submerged by rising sea levels caused by climate change, won the Branford Boase Award recognizing outstanding debut children’s literature. While Publishers Weekly critiqued aspects of its believability and writing style, Alternative Magazine hailed it as a "stunning debut" that signaled his future literary achievements.
Dark Horse (2001) was nominated for several awards, and My Swordhand Is Singing (2006) secured the Booktrust Teenage Prize. In 2013, he collaborated with his brother Julian Sedgwick on the graphic novel Dark Satanic Mills, illustrated by John Higgins. His 2015 young adult novel The Ghosts of Heaven, structured as four interlinked narratives, garnered favorable evaluations from The New York Times.
Sedgwick received numerous distinguished accolades, notably winning the Michael L. Printz Award three times: in 2011 for Revolver, in 2014 for Midwinter Blood, and again in 2016 for The Ghosts of Heaven. At the time of his passing, he held the record as the most frequently nominated author for this prominent young adult literary honor. Beyond writing, he partnered with his brother Julian on various film and literary projects and was represented by RCW Literary Agency.
From 2011 to 2014, he served as writer-in-residence teaching creative writing at Bath Spa University and also contributed literary reviews to the Guardian newspaper.
Reception
In its 2016 critique of Saint Death, Kirkus Reviews commended Sedgwick’s "characteristic precision of English prose." As noted by The Guardian, following the publication of My Swordhand Is Singing in 2006, his works consistently appeared among finalists for major literary awards. Although he seldom secured top prizes, his books were "always critically acclaimed, much admired by other writers and popular with readers."
Awards
- 2001 Branford Boase Award – Floodland
- 2001 Edgar Awards nomination – Witch Hill
- 2007 North East Teenage Book Award – The Foreshadowing
- 2007 Portsmouth Book Award – The Foreshadowing
- 2007 Booktrust Teenage Prize – My Swordhand Is Singing
- 2007 Renfrewshire Book Award – My Swordhand Is Singing
- 2011 Blue Peter Book Award (Best Book with Pictures) – Lunatics and Luck
- 2011 Michael L. Printz Award – Revolver
- 2013 Rotherham Book Awards (Lower Age Category) – Fright Forest
- 2014 Michael L. Printz Award – Midwinterblood
- 2015 Essex Book Award – She Is Not Invisible
- 2015 Oxfordshire Book Award – She Is Not Invisible
- 2015 Rib Valley Book Award – She Is Not Invisible
- 2015 Spellbinding Book Award – She Is Not Invisible
- 2016 Michael L. Printz Award – The Ghosts of Heaven
Personal life
Sedgwick experienced three marriages and subsequent divorces, fathering a daughter named Alice with his first spouse, Kate Agnew. In addition to his talents in writing and illustrating, he was also a passionate drummer and devoted follower of music. Among his preferred literary figures were Susan Cooper, Thomas Mann, and Arthur Schnitzler.
After being diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome in 2014, Sedgwick moved initially to the French Alps before settling in Dordogne. His last published work was the nonfiction title All In Your Head: What Happens When Your Doctor Doesn’t Believe You?. Sedgwick passed away in France on 15 November 2022 at the age of 54.
Young adult novels
- Floodland (Delacorte Press, 2000)
- The Dark Horse (Wendy Lamb Books, 2001)
- The Foreshadowing (Orion Children's Books, 2005)
- Blood Red, Snow White (Orion Children's Books, 2007)
- Revolver (Orion, 2009)
- White Crow (Orion, 2010)
- Midwinterblood (Indigo, 2011)
- She Is Not Invisible (Orion Children's Books, 2013)
- The Ghosts of Heaven (Roaring Brook Press, 2015)
- Killing the Dead (Indigo, 2015)
- Saint Death (Orion Children's Books, 2016)
- Snowflake, AZ (Norton Young Readers, 2019)
- Dark Peak (Oxford University Press, 2021)
- Wrath (Barrington Stoke, 2022)
Dead Days
- The Book of Dead Days (Orion, 2003)
- The Dark Flight Down (Orion Children's Books, 2004)
Swordhand
- My Swordhand Is Singing (Orion Children's Books, 2006)
- The Kiss of Death (Orion Children's Books, 2008)
Children’s books
- Witch Hill (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2001)
- A Winter's Tale, illustrated by Simon Bartram (Templar Publishing, 2003)
Raven Mysteries
- Food and Fang (Orion Children's Books, 2009)
- Ghosts and Gadgets (Orion Children's Books, 2009)
- Lunatics and Luck (Orion Children's Books, 2010)
- Vampires and Volts (Orion Children's Books, 2010)
- Magic and Mayhem (Orion Children's Books, 2011)
- Diamond and Doom (Orion Children's Books, 2011)
Cudweed
- Cudweed's Birthday (Hachette Children's Group, 2011)
- Cudweed in Outer Space (Hachette Children's Group, 2012)
- Cudweed's Time Machine (Hachette Children's Group, 2013)
Elf Girl and Raven Boy
- Fright Forest (Orion Children's Books, 2012)
- Monster Mountains (Hachette Children's Group, 2012)
- Scream Sea (Orion Children's Books, 2013)
- Dread Desert (Hachette Children's Group, 2013)
- Terror Town (Hachette Children's Group, 2014)
- Creepy Caves (Orion Children's Books, 2015)
Picture books
- A Christmas Wish (Dutton, Penguin, 2003)
- The Emperor's New Clothes, illustrated by Jay Alison (Chronicle Books, 2004)
Graphic novels
- Dark Satanic Mills, co-created with Julian Sedgwick and illustrated by Marc Olivent and John Higgins (Walker Books, 2013)
- Scarlett Hart: Monster Hunter (First Second Books, 2018)
- Voyages in the Underworld of Orpheus Black, written with Julian Sedgwick (Walker Books, 2019)
Adult Fiction
- A Love Like Blood (Pegasus Books, 2015)
- Mister Memory (Mulholland Books, 2016)
- The Monsters We Deserve (Zephyr, 2018)
Nonfiction Works
- Cowards: The True Story of the Men Who Refused to Fight, London (Hodder Children's Books, 2003)
- Snow, with illustrations by Marcus Sedgwick (Little Toller Books, 2016)
- Be the Change – Be Calm: Rise Up and Don’t Let Anxiety Hold You Back (Summersdale, 2022)
- All In Your Head: What Happens When Your Doctor Doesn’t Believe You? (Bennion Kearny Limited, 2022)
Short Stories and Novellas
- "bad language" featured in Thirteen (Orchard Books, 2005)
- "The Heart of Another" included in The Restless Dead: Ten Original Stories of the Supernatural, edited by Deborah Noyes (Candlewick Press, 2007)
- "The Spear of Destiny" within Doctor Who: Eleven Doctors, Eleven Stories (Puffin, 2013)
- "Don't Call It Glory" appearing in The Great War: Stories Inspired by Items from the First World War (Candlewick Press, 2015)
- "If Only in My Dreams" published in I'll Be Home for Christmas (Stripes Publishing, 2016)
- "Together We Win" in 10 Stories to Make a Difference, illustrated by Daniel Ido (PopUp Projects, 2021)
Illustration Credits
- Outremer: Jaufré Rudel and the Countess of Tripoli – A Legend of the Crusades, edited by Nick Riddle (Fisher King, 1993)
- June Counsel’s Once upon Our Time (Glyndley Books, 2000)