Nicola Morgan
(born November 1961 - ) - Edinburgh
Nicola Morgan studied Classics and Philosophy at Cambridge University, before becoming an English teacher at a small school. Working with children with dyslexia and other reading and writing difficulties inspired her to set up Magic Readers, a pre-school scheme to encourage parents and children to enjoy reading activities together. By 1999, the success of Magic Readers led to the development of the Child Literacy Centre website, and the success of her early learning books enabled her to leave teaching and write full-time.
She has written over 50 early learning books, including several Thomas the Tank Engine stories, and many of her children's non-fiction books remain best-sellers. But she always wanted to write fiction and her first - and favourite - novel, Mondays are Red, was published in 2002. Her most recent novel is The Passion Flower Massacre, but she also writes non-fiction, notably Blame My Brain, a guide for parents and their children to understanding the teenage brain. Blame My Brain has been nominated for the Royal Society's Aventis Junior Prize for Science Books.
Nicola lives in Edinburgh where she continues to write. Her most recent novel is The Highwayman's Curse.
Key titles
- Blame My Brain: The Amazing Teenage Brain Revealed
Nicola Morgan's accessible and humourous examination of the ups and downs of the teenage brain deals with powerful emotions, the need for more sleep, the urge to take risks, the difference between genders, the reasons behind addiction and depression, and what lies ahead. - Curses
Do you believe in curses? From Tutankhamum's tomb to the Curse of Superman, Nicola Morgan offers a fascinating and light-hearted look at how curses work and why people believe in them. - The Highwayman's Curse
On the run from the redcoats, the two young highwaymen, Will and Bess, find themselves in Galloway, Scotland, blamed for a murder they did not commit. Here they are captured by smugglers and become embroiled in a story of hatred and revenge that goes back for generations, to the days of the Killing Times. - The Highwayman's Footsteps
When high-born William de Lacey saves a highwayman's life, he cannot guess how his own life will change. He may have escaped his father's sneering contempt, but has his easy childhood prepared him for the terrifying dangers that he must face now? - Know Your Brain
Nicola Morgan explains how the brain functions and how to make it work in the best possible way. With sections on intelligence and genius, dyslexia and autism, and keeping the brain fit and healthy, this book explores the marvellous thing that makes us who we are. - Mondays Are Red
Mondays are red. Sadness has an empty blue shell. And music can taste of anything from banana puree to bat's pee. After a devastating bout of meningitis, Luke struggles to regain his health and understand its mysterious legacy - the synaesthesia that makes life a kaleidoscope of mixed sensations. - The Passion Flower Massacre
Matilda longs for freedom, to escape from her over-protective parents and a painful childhood. Working on a Devon fruit farm after leaving school seems to offer the perfect opportunity. Paradise, in fact. But is it too perfect?
Bibliography
- Mondays are Red - 2002
- Fleshmarket - 2003
- Sleepwalking - 2004
- Chicken Friend - 2005
- Blame My Brain - 2005
- The Passion Flower Massacre - 2005
- The Leaving Home Survival Guide - 2005
- The Highwayman's Footsteps - 2006
- The Highwayman's Curse - 2007
- Know Your Brain - 2007
- Curses - 2008