The Fifth Doctor: Tip of the Tongue

Born in Virginia, USA, Patrick Ness spent his upbringing in the states of Hawaii, Washington and California before moving permanently to the UK. He is the author of the Chaos Walking trilogy – The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men – which established him as one of the most original and exciting writers of today. The trilogy has won many awards including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Costa Children’s Book Award, the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the CILIP Carnegie Medal. Following a major rights deal with US studio Lionsgate (makers of blockbuster The Hunger Games) the first film is currently being written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).

Patrick’s sixth book, A Monster Calls, received high critical acclaim and in 2012 was the winner of the Children’s Book of the Year Award at the Galaxy National Book Awards, the Red House Children’s Book Award and the UKLA Children’s Book Prize. In June 2012, A Monster Calls became the first book ever to win both prestigious CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals.

His highly anticipated novel for adults, The Crane Wife, was inspired by a Japanese folk tale and published by Canongate in April 2013. Check out his daring new young adult novel, More Than This, published by Walker Books (Candlewick in the US).

Patrick’s earlier works include the adult novel The Crash of Hennington, short-story collection Topics About Which I Know Nothing, varied journalism and radio plays. He was Booktrust’s first ever writer in residency and has taught creative writing.

Find out more about Patrick at www.patrickness.com. You can also follow him on Twitter: @Patrick_Ness