Occupation Novelist Name John Flanagan Children Kitty Flanagan | Nationality Australian Spouse Leonie Flanagan (m. 1967) Language English Role Author | |
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Born John Anthony Flanagan 22 May 1944 (age 79) Sydney, Australia ( 1944-05-22 ) Notable works Ranger's ApprenticeBrotherband Books The Ruins of Gorlan, The Burning Bridge, The Icebound Land, Oakleaf Bearers, Erak's Ransom Similar People Gary Reilly, Kitty Flanagan, Penny Flanagan, David Elliot, Matthew Krok | ||
TV shows Hey Dad..!, Hampton Court | ||
Q a with john flanagan author of the ranger s apprentice
John Anthony Flanagan (born 22 May 1944) is an Australian fantasy author best known for his children's books. His best-known work is the Ranger's Apprentice medieval fantasy novels and companion series Brotherband Chronicles. He also writes novels for adults.
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Career
John Flanagan grew up in Sydney suburb of Clovelly and attended Waverley College, Australia hoping to be a writer. It wasn’t until he wrote a very uncomplimentary poem about a senior executive at the agency where he worked, that his talent was revealed. As it turned out one of the company directors agreed with John’s assessment of the executive, and agreed to train John in copywriting. After writing advertising copy for the next two decades, Flanagan teamed up with Gary Reilly, who co-created the long time running television series Hey Dad..! for which Flanagan wrote 293 episodes. John also wrote for Hampton Court and My Two Wives.
Flanagan started working on what would become Ranger's Apprentice in the 1990s, originally comprising twenty short stories for his twelve year old son Michael. Flanagan wanted to encourage his son to read, as well as show him that heroes, like the main character Will, don't have to be big and strong; Michael was a small boy, and all his friends were bigger and stronger than he was. In the early 2000s, John decided to make the stories into the first novel The Ruins of Gorlan. This was published in 2004, when he was 60. There are currently fourteen books.
In 2008, he won the Australian Publishers Association's Book of the Year for "Older Children and the International Success Award" for Erak's Ransom.
The series has become steadily more popular. They are being sold in more than eighteen countries,appeared on the New York Times Best Sellers List and are regularly shortlisted for children’s book awards in Australia and overseas.
Personal life
John lives with his wife, Leonie, in the Sydney beachside suburb of Manly, New South Wales. He is currently writing further titles in the Ranger’s Apprentice series. In addition to their son, they have two grown daughters and four grandsons.