Andy Mulligan
Andy Mulligan was brought up in South London. He worked as a theatre director for ten years before travels in Asia prompted him to retrain as a teacher. He has taught English and drama in India, Brazil, Vietnam, the Philippines and the UK. He now lives in England, and is writing full time. Children’s books, radio drama and screenplays: Andy works in a variety of media, though he remains best known for young adult fiction.
Trash, his most acclaimed novel, is studied in English by our Year 7s each year. It is hailed by the Times as 'outstanding ...exceptionally satisfying', the tale of three dumpsite boys and the astonishing discovery they make amongst the city's refuse has been sold all over the world.
Trash was first published in 2010 and the book is now published in thirty languages across the globe. The novel was shortlisted for the 2012 Carnegie medal, and film rights were snapped up soon after UK publication. Stephen Daldry directed Martin Sheen and Rooney Mara, plus a host of Brazilian stars. The film was released to great critical acclaim in 2015.
Lunch with Andy Mulligan - for Year 8 and above
If you enjoyed reading 'Trash' when you were in Year 7 and would like to hear Andy Mulligan talk about his writing at lunchtime on Thursday, 6 December, this is the place to do it!
Click here to sign up - but be quick places are limited
Starting at 12:55, the talk will go for around 30 minutes and you will have time to ask questions. You are encouraged to bring a packed lunch on the day (yes you will be allowed to eat in the library that day!) so that you don't miss out on any of the session.
Do you want a signed copy of his books?
Signed copies of an author's book are always a great takeaway when you have listened to an author speak. Click here if you would like to order copies. Orders must be placed by 30 November, otherwise, they won't be supplied in time to have them signed.
Year 7 - Trash to Treasure Display
Research: think about a simple way to make an item of trash useful! Find examples on the internet from sites like Pinterest or YouTube to help you and look at upcycling initiatives that have been introduced to help people and communities around the world and promote the environment. Make a sample of the item to present to the class. Remember: you should use that people have thrown away!
Andy Mulligan was in the house!
We have been awaiting his visit for such a long time, we can hardly believe it has happened!
Andy Mulligan, the English writer best known for his young adult fiction, agreed to visit us here at Dulwich College, Singapore to work for a day with our students, staff and parents. And what a day we had! We certainly keep him on his toes and Andy was not only more than equal to the demands we made of him on the day, but clearly enjoyed and appreciated our excitement and preparation for his visit.
An award-winning author, Andy was born and bred in London, where he worked as a theatre director for ten years before travels in Asia prompted him to retrain as a teacher. His experiences as a volunteer in Calcutta and India and then as an English and drama teacher in Brazil, Vietnam, the Phillippines and the UK has strongly influenced his writing. Having written 8 books pitched at the 10 to 16-year-old age group, and now a full-time author, Andy is just finishing off his ninth book which should be available next year.
His first novel Ribblestrop was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Books prize; his second, Return to Ribblestrop, won the Guadian Children’s Fiction prize. Trash, which has been studied (and loved!) by Year 7 English classes for the past four years, was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It has also been made into a major motion picture and published in 28 languages.
Andy started his day in the Senior Library by signing a huge pile of books which had been pre-purchased by our keen readers. Our Year 7s , who had only recently finished studying ‘Trash’ in English, were fascinated to hear the story behind how this and Andy’s other books came to be. Andy was also very impressed by how knowledgeable and insightful our students were about his writing and was amazed by the ‘Trash to Treasure’ display which highlighted the work the students did as part of their study of the book
Members of the Dulwich Times teams, Grover Sahil, Jet Sun and Emma Loon, took the opportunity to interview Andy while he was having lunch. Their well-considered and thought-provoking questions are sure to provide a great basis for an article in their next newsletter, so do look out for that!
At lunchtime students from Year 8 and above, who had read Trash in Year 7 were invited to have lunch with Andy. This session was also attended by many of the Junior School Reading Ambassadors who were keen to get a sneak peek at what’s in store for them when they progress to the Senior School.
After lunch members from Ruth Taaffe’s Writing CCA spent a lesson 5 with Andy, who spoke to them about their writing and offered suggestions about how they might approach their current project.
It was great to be able to incorporate Andy’s visit into the ‘Coffee and Conversations with An Author’ series which we have been running on a monthly basis since the beginning of this year. The opportunity for parents to learn more about the writing of an author whose work has had such an impact on their children was very well received by all who attended.
After school, Andy offered a session for staff interested in his writing, particularly those endeavouring to find the motivation, balance and energy to use their spare time to start or develop writing projects of their own.
It was a huge but enriching day for our whole College community and one which will be fondly remembered for some time to come. We feel certain that we have made a strong connection with Andy Mulligan and look forward to maintaining our relationship with him as we continue to study and enjoy his writing.