Michael Scott (Irish author) explained

Michael Scott
Pseudonym:Anna Dillon
Birth Name:Michael Peter Scott
Birth Date:28 September 1959
Birth Place:Dublin, Ireland
Nationality:Irish
Occupation:Writer
Period:1983–present
Notableworks:The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series

Michael Peter Scott (born 28 September 1959) is an Irish writer of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and, under the name Anna Dillon, romance novels. He is also a collector and editor of folklore. Scott is best known for his The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel book series.

Career

Early career

Scott traveled across Ireland as a dealer of rare and antique books before beginning his writing career.

Writing

Scott has produced over 100 books in more than 30 years of active writing. He has written short stories and novels for adults, young adults, and children, in many genres including science fiction, fantasy, horror, folklore, and romance.

His first book (inspired by his fascination with Irish mythology), Irish Folk and Fairy Tales, volume 1, was published in 1983 and became part of a trilogy documenting a large number of Irish folk tales that had, in some cases, only been told verbally prior to his collection. The Irish Folk and Fairy Tales volumes were the culmination of Scott's extensive travels across Ireland whilst working as a book dealer, documenting the tales he found along the way.

When reviewing Scott's The De Danann Tales, the Irish Times described him as "the King of Fantasy in these Isles," and the Irish Children's Book Trust in their Definitive Guide to Children's Books recognized him, for his "unparalleled contribution to Children's Literature". The De Danann Tales was scheduled to be a series of five books but only three were ever published. He also co-authored two books of a projected trilogy with Morgan Llywelyn, and one standalone book.

He is best known for his six-book young adult series, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.

Scott is also an experienced scriptwriter for stage and screen, having written for a number of projects including documentaries and drama. He once headed up the drama department in Tyrone Productions, the creators of Riverdance. While working there he scripted high-profile events such as the 2003 Special Olympics[1] which were held in Ireland, and the Irish Film and Television Awards. Michael Scott was the Writer in Residence during Dublin's tenure as the European City of Culture in 1991[2] he featured in the 2006 edition of Who's Who in Ireland as one of the 1,000 "most significant Irish".

Scott has also written a number of drama/romance novels under the pseudonym Anna Dillon.

Doctor Who

On 5 February 2013 Michael Scott was announced as the author of The Nameless City,[3] a short story commissioned by the BBC to celebrate the 50th anniversary year of the TV series Doctor Who.[4] The story features the second Doctor, played by Patrick Troughton and his companion Jamie McCrimmon. It was released on 23 February 2013 as an ebook initially, and featured a special celebratory printed anthology which was released alongside the final e-story on 23 November 2013 by Puffin Books[5]

Styles and genres

Scott's stated first love is mythology. He says that his background, growing up in Ireland with its rich mythology, led him to be naturally drawn to myths. Irish mythology emerged through history relatively unscathed and uninfluenced as they were not invaded by the Romans or Greeks. History also has a strong impact on his style, as it was his favourite subject in school. However, while he has a special taste for mythology, Scott writes what purely interests him, which has led him to write across many genres and styles. He doesn't restrict himself with genre labelling - he says is only interested in being a writer, not a writer of any specific genre.[6]

Nicholas Flamel

Books

The first book in Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel six book series, The Alchemyst, reached #2 on the New York Times Best Seller, Children's list on 26 August 2007[7] and as of 24 March 2008 it had sold in excess of 150,000 copies.[8] The second book in that series, The Magician, reached #4 on the New York Times Best Seller list on 13 July 2008.[9] The series has to date been printed in 20 languages and is available in 37 countries.[10] He wrote the entire series out of fascination with history and inspiration from other places.

Online games

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series has spawned online games, the first related online game to be launched was The Codex Master[11] The game is to guess a secret code consisting of a sequence of coloured orbs by inputting various sequences and using logic. When a sequence is entered, indicators show when the player has the right colour and also when a colour is in the right or wrong position to enable them to apply logic and guess the correct sequence.

To celebrate the release of The Sorceress an online game was created.[12] It was called The Challenges of the Elder[13] and launched on 21 April 2009. Players are guided through the game, which is a set of four challenges, by video scenes featuring Michael Scott. The first task, the Alchemyst's challenge, required players to assemble a moving jigsaw of the series' logo against a countdown clock. The second task, the Magician's challenge, required players to turn over two books from a series of books and find matching symbols, when a matching pair was found both books burst into flames and disappeared. The task was complete when all the books had been matched. The third task, the Sorceress' challenge was a colour sequencing game where players chose coloured flasks and would have to repeat the sequence that they were shown in. Players then advanced to meet The Elder, who asked them a set of knowledge questions about the books and were given a 'coloured aura ranking' calculated from their scores and time taken to complete the tasks.

Film adaptation

The film rights to The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series became available in late 2009, and on 19 November 2009 it was announced in Variety Magazine[14] that Lorenzo di Bonaventura had bought the film rights to the series. Michael Scott and Barry Krost will be the executive producers. The script writer has yet to be announced.IMDb now lists The Alchemyst film as "in development"[15]

Award nominations

Scott's The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series has thus far garnered him 10 literary award nominations. The Alchemyst was the winner of the 2008 Rhode Island Book Award (Teens) after beating 200 other nominated titles.[16]

The Alchemyst was nominated for:

The Magician was nominated for:

The Sorceress was nominated for:

Bibliography

Young readers

Illustrated

Science Fiction

Young adult books

Fantasy

Folk Tales

Teen Adventure

Science Fiction

Illustrated

Adult books

Horror

Fantasy

Folk Tales

Adventure

Science fiction

Non-fiction

Illustrated

As Anna Dillon

As editor

Contributions to other books

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Special Olympics boosts sponsors on a social level . Catherine . O'Mahony . The Post.Ie . 25 November 2009 . 4 May 2003 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081020042910/http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2003/05/04/story348992498.asp . 20 October 2008 .
  2. Web site: Arts Council Ireland Annual Report 1991/1992 . artscouncil.ie . 25 November 2009. 26 August 1992.
  3. Web site: Nicholas Flamel author pens second Doctor short ebook. Doctor Who TV. 5 February 2013. 5 February 2013.
  4. Web site: Doctor Who short stories announced for 50th Anniversary. BBC . 5 February 2013. 3 January 2013.
  5. Web site: Puffin to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who . Puffin . 5 February 2013 . 3 January 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130130193924/http://pressoffice.penguin.co.uk/static/downloads/releases2012/DoctorWho50thAnniversaryPuffineshortseries.pdf . 30 January 2013 .
  6. Web site: Questions and Answers with Michael Scott - Hortorian.com . Fiachra Reilly . 20 November 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101201103233/http://hortorian.com/2010/11/questions-and-answers-with-michael-scott/ . 1 December 2010 .
  7. Web site: Children's Books . The New York Times . 24 November 2009 . 26 August 2006 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140118002853/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/books/bestseller/0826bestchildren.html?_r=1 . 18 January 2014 .
  8. Web site: Diane . Roback . Farewell to Harry . https://web.archive.org/web/20140102193822/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6543965.html?q=Michael%2BScott . dead . 2 January 2014 . . 24 November 2009 . 24 March 2008 .
  9. Web site: Children's Books . The New York Times . 24 November 2009 . 13 July 2008 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140118011550/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/13/books/bestseller/0713bestchildren.html?_r=1 . 18 January 2014 .
  10. Web site: Michael Scott-The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel-The Alchemyst . Michael . Scott . 22 November 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090918091036/http://www.dillonscott.com/the-secrets-of-the-immortal-nicholas-flamel/books/the-alchemyst.htm . 18 September 2009 .
  11. Web site: Teens. Random House. The Codex Master Game . Random House, U.S.A. 25 November 2009. 2007.
  12. Web site: Shannon . Maughan . The Sorceress' Heats Up with Marketing Muscle . Publishers Weekly . 25 November 2009 . 30 April 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090610173023/http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6655416.html . 10 June 2009 .
  13. Web site: Creative . Asylum . The Challenges of the Elder . RHCB . 25 November 2009 . 22 April 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091206162916/http://www.alchemystgame.com/ . 6 December 2009 .
  14. Web site: Dave. McNary. DiBonaventura sets up 'Secret' Company to produce 'Nicholas Flamel' series . 18 November 2009. Variety. 22 November 2009.
  15. Web site: The Alchemyst: Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (2009). Internet Movie Database. Staff writers. 22 November 2009.
  16. Web site: Staff writer. 2009 RI Teen Book Award Winner — Press Release. R.I.T.B.A. 27 November 2009. 17 March 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20100108132323/http://www.olis.ri.gov/news/2009/ritbawinner.pdf. 8 January 2010. dead.
  17. Web site: Staff writer. Book Award Shortlist . RTE.ie. 27 November 2009. 27 March 2008.
  18. Web site: Staff writer . 2009 Master List @ The Kentucky Bluegrass Award . K.B.A . 27 November 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091215071930/http://kba.nku.edu/lists/2009.shtml . 15 December 2009 .
  19. Web site: Staff writer. Maine Student Book Award 2008–2009 . MSBA. 27 November 2009.
  20. Web site: Staff writer . Nevada Library Association — Nevada Young Readers' Award . NYRA . 27 November 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100225201027/http://www.nevadalibraries.org/Divisions/NYRA/ . 25 February 2010 .
  21. Web site: Staff writer . NCSLMA YA BOOK AWARD - 2010 High School Voting Ballot . NCSLMA . 27 November 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140310185507/https://sites.google.com/site/ncslmayabookaward/high-school/voting-ballot-high-school . 10 March 2014.
  22. Web site: Staff writer. 2009 RI Teen Book Award Winner. O.L.I.S. 27 November 2009. 19 March 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091126192832/http://www.olis.ri.gov/rhodarian/?p=528. 26 November 2009. dead.
  23. Web site: Irish Book Awards Category page. Staff writers. 22 November 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20091115050655/http://www.irishbookawards.com/AwardDetails.aspx#cat132883. 15 November 2009.
  24. Web site: Best Children's Books of 2009. Staff writers. Amazon . 27 November 2009.
  25. Web site: 2009 Nominations, fantasy & science fiction. Dadtalk.typepad.com. Staff writers. 27 November 2009.
  26. First hardback edition published as by Anna Dillon

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