Gillian Claire Cross (born 24 December 1945) is a British author of children's books. She won the 1990 Carnegie Medal for Wolf and the 1992 Whitbread Children's Book Award for The Great Elephant Chase. She also wrote The Demon Headmaster book series, which was later turned into a television series by the BBC in January 1996; a sequel series was produced in 2019.

Personal life and education

Gillian Clare Arnold was born in London on 24 December 1945 to James Eric and Joan Emma Arnold. As a girl, she attended the North London Collegiate School. She married Martin Cross on 10 May 1967. It was highly commended for the 1982 Carnegie Medal

In the 2024 Dorset Council election, Cross contested Beacon ward as a Labour Party candidate.

Awards and honours

Three of Cross's books are Junior Library Guild selections: The Great American Elephant Chase (1995), New World (1995), and Pictures in the Dark (1997).

In 1987, The Horn Book Magazine has included two of Cross's books on their list of the best fiction of the year: Roscoe’s Leap (1987) and The Great American Elephant Chase (1993).

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"

|+Awards for Cross's writing

!Year

!Title

!Award

!Result

!Ref.

|-

|1980

|'

|Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

|Runner-up

|

|-

|1982

| rowspan="2" |

|Carnegie Medal

|Highly commended

|

|-

|1991

|Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

|Runner-up

|

|-

| rowspan="3" |1992

| rowspan="3" |

|Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for 9 – 11 Years

|Winner

|

|-

|1999

| rowspan="2" |Tightrope

|Carnegie Medal

|Shortlist

|

|-

|2001

|Best Books for Young Adults

|Selection

|

|-

|2011

|Where I Belong

|Carnegie Medal

|Nominee

|

|-

|2013

| rowspan="5" |After Tomorrow

|Guardian Children's Fiction Prize

|Longlist

|

|-

| rowspan="4" |2014

|Bolton Children's Book Award

|Winner

|

|-

|Carnegie Medal

|Nominee

|

|-

|Coventry Inspiration Book Award

|Winner

|

|-

|Little Rebels Children's Book Award

|Winner

|

|}

Bibliography

  • The Runaway (1979)
  • The Iron Way (1979)
  • Revolt at Ratcliffe's Rags (1980)
  • A Whisper of Lace (1981)
  • Save Our School (1981)
  • The Dark Behind the Curtain (1982)
  • The Demon Headmaster series:
  • The Demon Headmaster (1982)
  • The Prime Minister's Brain (1985)
  • The Revenge of the Demon Headmaster (1994)
  • The Demon Headmaster Strikes Again (1996)
  • The Demon Headmaster Takes Over (1997)
  • Facing the Demon Headmaster (2002)
  • Total Control (2017)
  • Mortal Danger (2019)
  • Born of the Sun (1983)
  • The Mintyglo Kid (1983)
  • On the Edge (1984)
  • Swimathon! (1986)
  • Chartbreak (1986);

References

  • Gillian Cross at Fantastic Fiction
  • Author profile and interview
  • Gillian Cross answers questions about writing