Joan Lingard

(born 1932 - ) - Edinburgh

Joan Lingard is a name instantly recognisable to those interested in children’s books, although she also writes for adults. Her early novels have become classics of children’s fiction while this prolific author has read all over the country in schools, literary festivals, and at events.

Joan Lingard was born in Scotland but the family moved to Belfast when she was two. She lived there till she was eighteen. Her most famous books have been set in that city with Across the Barricades particularly well known, and for which she received the prestigious West German award, the Buxthuderbulle, in 1986.

Tug Of War has also enjoyed great success: shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 1989, The Federation of Children's Book Group Award 1989, it was runner-up in the Lancashire Children's Book Club of the Year 1990 and shortlisted for the Sheffield Book Award.

Lingard comments that her work is often about displacement, of characters uprooting themselves, and facing up to new experiences. Her most recent work for adults is After You've Gone (2007), a novel set in working-class Edinburgh in the 1920s. Her fortieth children's novel, What To Do About Holly, was launched at the EIBF in 2009.

She now lives in Edinburgh where she is married with three grown-up daughters.

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Across The Barricades - Paperback
This is one of Joan Lingard's hauntingly powerful Kevin and Sadie novels which set young love against the backdrop of the Irish troubles.
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After You've Gone - Hardback
Willa is a polite and respectable woman whose husband, a navy officer, is away on a year-long world cruise. Struggling to cope with the tedium and oppression of life without him, Willa's only escape is through the books she reads. Through regular visits to the library she meets a man with a mutual fascination, Richard Fitzwilliam.
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The Eleventh Orphan - Paperback
Mr and Mrs Bigsby of the Pig and Whistle, Stoke Newington already look after ten children. When Constable O'Dowd brings her an 11th orphan he found on the streets, Ma Bigsby is reluctant to take her. But there's something about Elfie, it's the first day of a new century and Ma loves a mystery.
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Encarnita's Journey - Paperback
In 1920s Yegen, the arrival of British writer, Gerald Brenan, brings a new excitement to the village. But Gerald is not the only new arrival: in a dusty stable a child is born. Encarnita grows up learning many stories, but after the passing of 80 years and many miles, there is still one tale left to tell.
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Kevin And Sadie: The Story Continues - Paperback
A collection of the last three Kevin and Sadie titles: 'Into Exile', 'A Proper Place' and 'Hostage to Fortune'. They tell the story of two teenagers whose love crosses the barriers of conflict-torn Belfast.
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The Kiss - Paperback
This is a touching story about relationships, families, love, and art explored through the lives and work of Rodin and his muse. During a school study trip to Paris, an Edinburgh-based art teacher becomes embroiled in an affair with one of his students.
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Me And My Shadow - Hardback
When Emily realises she is being followed, she is determined to find out who is lurking in the shadows. Coming face to face with the stalker, Emily soon realises that she must deal with more than she bargained for as old secrets come to light.
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Natasha's Will - Hardback
Natasha's story is set against the background of the Russian Revolution as she and her family flee persecution. Her story is linked with the present as her heirs search for her will.
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River Eyes - Paperback
Jamie and Claire are thrilled to be on a canoeing trip with Grandpa, sleeping under canvas and catching fish, but there's someone else in the woods - poachers. The two children help to catch the thieves and still go home with salmon for tea.
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The Sign Of The Black Dagger - Paperback
When Will & Lucy's dad disappears, their life changes for ever. They uncover a trail of secrets & lies - but hidden in a fireplace in their old Edinburgh house, there's a clue that might lead them to the truth. A journal that tells the story of another pair of twins, William & Louisa, who lived in their house 200 years before.
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Tortoise Trouble - Paperback
Robbie loves life in the country, and is appalled to move to Edinburgh. As he comes to terms with a new city, school and friends, Robbie is consoled by the time he spends with his pet tortoise Herman. Then, one afternoon, Herman goes missing.
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What To Do About Holly - Paperback
When Holly's mother puts her on the Edinburgh train, in the care of a complete stranger, neither of them have any idea of what is going to happen. Holly spends the next two weeks in the company of her favourite author Nina Nightingale, a life totally unlike anything Holly has known before.