Photo of Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman

Philip Pullman is the author of The Golden Compass, the Hollywood smash hit film starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig. Before conquering Hollywood, the book – originally published as Northern Lights – sold several million copies and won just about every major children’s book prize going. Philip travelled all round the world as a boy, devouring comic books and idolising his heroes Batman and Superman. When he grew up he became a teacher in Oxford and started to write books in a shed at the bottom of his garden. Even though The Golden Compass has stirred up controversy, he says that if it suddenly became against the law to write stories, he would break the law without a second’s hesitation. He says, “Stories are the most important thing in the world. Without stories, we wouldn’t be human beings at all.” When Philip isn’t writing, he likes to play the piano (badly), draw and make things out of wood.

Books by Philip Pullman

  • Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp

    Aladdin and the Enchanted Lamp

  • Amber Spyglass: the award-winning, internationally bestselling, now full-colour illustrated edition

    Amber Spyglass: the award-winning, internationally bestselling, now full-colour illustrated edition

  • Clockwork

    Clockwork

  • Clockwork

    Clockwork

  • Count Karlstein

    Count Karlstein

  • His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Tv tie-in edition)

    His Dark Materials: The Amber Spyglass (Tv tie-in edition)

  • I Was a Rat

    I Was a Rat

  • I Was a Rat!

    I Was a Rat!

  • Mystery of the Ghost Ship

    Mystery of the Ghost Ship

  • Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights

    Northern Lights

  • Northern Lights (Gift Edition)

    Northern Lights (Gift Edition)

  • Northern Lights (Gift Edition)

    Northern Lights (Gift Edition)

  • Northern Lights (illustrated edition)

    Northern Lights (illustrated edition)

  • Once Upon a Time in the North

    Once Upon a Time in the North

  • Philip Pullman: Four Tales

    Philip Pullman: Four Tales

  • The Amber Spyglass

    The Amber Spyglass

  • The Amber Spyglass

    The Amber Spyglass

  • The Amber Spyglass

    The Amber Spyglass

  • The Amber Spyglass

    The Amber Spyglass

  • The Amber Spyglass

    The Amber Spyglass

  • The Amber Spyglass (Gift Edition)

    The Amber Spyglass (Gift Edition)

  • The Firework-Maker's Daughter

    The Firework-Maker's Daughter

  • The Firework-Maker's Daughter

    The Firework-Maker's Daughter

  • The Imagination Chamber

    The Imagination Chamber

  • The Ruby in the Smoke

    The Ruby in the Smoke

  • The Scarecrow and his Servant

    The Scarecrow and his Servant

  • The Scarecrow and His Servant

    The Scarecrow and His Servant

  • The Shadow in the North

    The Shadow in the North

  • The Subtle Knife

    The Subtle Knife

  • The Subtle Knife

    The Subtle Knife

  • The Subtle Knife

    The Subtle Knife

  • The Subtle Knife

    The Subtle Knife

  • The Subtle Knife

    The Subtle Knife

  • The Subtle Knife (Gift Edition)

    The Subtle Knife (Gift Edition)

  • The Subtle Knife Illustrated Edition

    The Subtle Knife Illustrated Edition

  • The Subtle Knife (TV tie-in edition)

    The Subtle Knife (TV tie-in edition)

  • The Tiger in the Well

    The Tiger in the Well

  • The Tin Princess

    The Tin Princess

Awards

Philip won the Nestle Smarties award for both Clockwork and The Firework Maker’s Daughter. Northern Lights was published in hardback in July 1995. That year, it won the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize and was Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.

The Amber Spyglass won WHSmith Children’s Book of the Year 2000 at the British Book Awards, was Highly Commended for the Carnegie Medal and was longlisted for The Booker Prize 2001. Philip Pullman was voted Whitaker Author of the Year by the Booksellers Association. The Amber Spyglass went on to win both Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year and Whitbread Book of the Year 2001 and in doing so became the first children’s book to win the main prize in the award’s history.

Philip has also been recognised with two major awards for his contribution to literature: the Eleanor Farjeon award in 2002, and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Prize in 2005.