Biography
Acclaimed author of Rooftoppers and The Explorer, Katherine Rundell is a children’s author whose imaginative tales are full of adventurous exploits and brave quests, often in exotic locations.
Born in 1987, Katherine lived in Zimbabwe, Brussels and London as a child. She studied at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, then became a fellow in English Literature at All Souls College, Oxford. It was during her time at university that she became interested in one of her favourite hobbies; exploring the rooftops of Oxford colleges.
Drawing on her own experiences of moving from Zimbabwe to Brussels as her child, her first children’s book, The Girl Savage, was published in 2011. Her second novel, Rooftoppers, was published in 2013, and features a young orphan who hides on the rooftops of Paris so she won’t be sent to an orphanage. It won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. The Wolf Wilder, The Explorers and The Good Thieves quickly followed.
As well as writing for children, Katherine is also a respected author of non-fiction; her biography of John Donne won the Baillie Gifford Prize For Non-Fiction in 2022.
Wonderfully imaginative, full of adventure, intrigue and daring-do, and featuring brave, compelling characters, Katherine Rundell’s novels offer children an escape from the bores of everyday life and transports them around the world to experience something new. Celebrating the wonders of nature as well as the importance of friendship, perseverance and determination, these novels are perfect for children who are curious about the wider world around them.
