Tom Palmer is a British author of children's books.[2]

Tom Palmer
Tom Palmer in 2023
Born1966 or 1967 (age 57–58)[1]
NationalityBritish
OccupationAuthor
Websitetompalmer.co.uk

Palmer was born in Leeds.[3] He cites football articles for getting him interested in reading as a child.[4] He was encouraged to read by his adoptive mother, who died in 1992 at the age of 54. He graduated from university and worked in libraries and book shops before becoming a published author.[3] He published his first book in 2002.[1] His first children's book for Puffin, Foul Play was shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book of the Year Award in 2009.[5] In 2018, Palmer wrote a new book for the Roy of the Rovers series.[6] In 2019, he received the Ruth Rendell Award.[7] In 2020, he published his 50th book.[8]

In 2021, Palmer's book After the War was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.[9]

Palmer currently lives in Halifax.[3][1] He is a supporter of Leeds United F.C. and has written a book titled If You're Proud to be a Leeds Fan.[10]

Select bibliography

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Palmer has written books on various sports including football, fell-running, cricket, rugby; various themes including refugees, fair-trade young carers and across many historical periods:[11]

  • Defenders: Pitch Invasion - Iron Age Celts
  • Defenders: Dark Arena - Roman Britain
  • Defenders: Killing Ground -Vikings and Anglo Saxons
  • Secret FC - Medieval
  • Flyboy & Over the Line & Armistice Runner - First World War
  • Spitfire & D-Day Dog (2019) & After the War:from Auschwitz to Ambleside (2020)[12][13] & Arctic Star (2021)[14] & Resist (2022) - Second World War

Football Academy series

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  • Teamwork (prequel)
  • Boys United
  • Striking Out
  • Reading the Game
  • The Real Thing
  • Free Kick
  • Captain Fantastic

Foul Play series

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  • Foul Play
  • Dead Ball
  • Offside
  • Killer Pass
  • Own Goal

References

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  1. ^ a b c Laversuch, Chloe (5 September 2017). "Top children's author opens up about how his mum helped him discover a love of books". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Home". Tom Palmer Children's Author. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Why this Yorkshire author decided to write children's books". Living North. March 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Bestselling children's author, Tom Palmer visits Grasmere School - cumbriacrack.com". Cumbria Crack. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Blue Peter Book Award", Wikipedia, 23 May 2023, retrieved 10 June 2023
  6. ^ "How has Roy of the Rovers stayed relevant 67 years on?". BBC Sport. 15 January 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Palmer scoops Ruth Rendell Award for 'outstanding' literacy work". The Bookseller. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  8. ^ Shaw, Martin (21 September 2020). "Children's author Tom Palmer signs copies on new book in socially-distanced meet-and-greet". Halifax Courier. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  9. ^ "The Carnegie Medal 2021 longlist is in". The Independent. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Football writers on tour". BBC. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  11. ^ Hubbard, Jessica (28 April 2021). "WW1 and WW2 author inspires Preston pupils and 'future authors' in long-awaited visit". Lancashire Evening Post. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  12. ^ "'It was like coming from hell to heaven' - new book tells the story of the 'Windermere Boys' for children". The Westmorland Gazette. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  13. ^ Bearn, Emily (29 November 2020). "The best children's books of 2020". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  14. ^ Writers, Young. "Tom Palmer talks about his ground-breaking plans for the Euros 2021 championships and his new book Arctic Star". Young Writers. Retrieved 6 December 2021.