Patrick Ness author page

Patrick Ness biography

Patrick Ness FRSL is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter, renowned for his contributions to young adult literature. Born on 17 October 1971 at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, he spent his early years in Hawaii and Washington State. Ness studied English Literature at the University of Southern California before relocating to London in 1999, where he has since resided and holds dual citizenship.

His debut novel, The Crash of Hennington (2003), marked the beginning of his literary career, followed by the short story collection Topics About Which I Know Nothing (2004). Ness gained significant acclaim with the Chaos Walking trilogy: The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008), The Ask and the Answer (2009), and Monsters of Men (2010). These works garnered multiple awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Booktrust Teenage Prize, and the Costa Children’s Book Award. Notably, all three titles were shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, with Monsters of Men securing the award in 2011.

In 2011, Ness published A Monster Calls, a novel based on an original idea by the late Siobhan Dowd and illustrated by Jim Kay. The book achieved the unprecedented feat of winning both the Carnegie Medal and the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2012. Ness adapted the novel into a screenplay for its 2016 film adaptation, directed by J.A. Bayona and featuring performances by Liam Neeson, Felicity Jones, and Sigourney Weaver.

Beyond these, Ness has authored several other young adult novels, including More Than This (2013), The Rest of Us Just Live Here (2015), Release (2017), And the Ocean Was Our Sky (2018), Burn (2020), and Different for Boys (2023). His works have been translated into over 20 languages, reflecting their global appeal.

In addition to his writing, Ness has contributed to television, creating and writing the BBC’s Doctor Who spin-off series Class (2016). He has also served as a creative writing lecturer at the University of Oxford and was the inaugural Writer in Residence for BookTrust. In recognition of his literary achievements, Ness was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2023.