R.J. Anderson

**R.J. (Rebecca Joan) Anderson** is a Canadian author of contemporary fantasy and science fiction for older children and teens, including the *Faery Rebels*, *The Flight and Flame*, *Ultraviolet* and *Uncommon Magic* series.

## Professional credits

Her debut novel *Knife,* which has sold more than 50,000 copies in the UK, was a Canadian Library Association (CLA) Honour Book and won the Concorde Book Award in the UK, while her teen thriller *Ultraviolet* was shortlisted for both the Sunburst Award in Canada and the prestigious Andre Norton (Nebula) award in the US. Her latest series is a duo of magical middle grade mysteries which began in 2015 with the CLA Top Ten and Silver Birch Award-nominated *A Pocket Full of Murder,* and wrapped up with *A Little Taste of Poison* (also a CLA Top Ten pick) in September 2016.

Rebecca is a member of CANSCAIP and the Writers' Union of Canada.

## Personal biography

Born in Kampala, Uganda and raised in various parts of Ontario, Rebecca has spent much of her life dreaming of other worlds entirely.

As a child she immersed herself in fairy tales, mythology, and the works of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and E. Nesbit; later she found inspiration in books by Ursula LeGuin, Patricia A. McKillip and Robin McKinley, and learned to take as much pleasure from the authors’ lyrical style as the stories they told.

Anderson is the daughter of a preacher, and has remained involved in the church as a pianist and a Bible study teacher. Anderson includes issues of Christian faith in some of her books, though *Publishers Weekly* states that she "generally handles her material without preaching."

Now married and a mother of three, Rebecca reads to her sons the classic works of fantasy and science fiction that enlivened her own childhood, and tries to bring a similar excitement and timeless wonder to the novels she writes for children and teens. She lives in the beautiful theatre town of Stratford, Ontario.

## Critical responses

*Kirkus Reviews* says that Anderson is "an assured storyteller with a knack for creating memorable characters." Anderson has been praised for both series, with *Knife* (the first book in the Faery Rebels series) winning the Concorde Book Award in 2011 and nominated for a Carnegie Medal in 2009. In 2011, she was nominated for a Nebula Award for *Ultraviolet*. *Ultraviolet* was shortlisted for the Andre Norton Award in 2012. She has been reviewed in *CM: Canadian Review of Materials* and *Canadian Children's Book News*. *Booklist* has called *Ultraviolet,* a story about a young adult synesthete, "a natural grabber for teens." In 2010 the Canadian Library Association gave *Spell Hunter* the Honor Book designation.

## Selected works

### Faery Rebels Series

* *Knife*, Orchard (London, England), 2008, published as *Spell Hunter*, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2009. Republished 2015 as "Knife" by Enclave Publishing / Third Day Books LLC (Phoenix, AZ)
* *Rebel*, Orchard (London, England), 2009, published as *Wayfarer*, HarperTeen (New York, NY), 2010. Republished 2015 as "Rebel" by Enclave Publishing / Third Day Books LLC (Phoenix, AZ)
* *Arrow*, Orchard (London, England), 2011, ISBN 978-1408312629. First US publication 2016 (same title) by Enclave Publishing / Third Day Books LLC (Phoenix, AZ)

### The Flight and Flame Series

* *Swift,* Orchard (London, England), 2012, ISBN 978-1408312636
* *Nomad*, Orchard (London, England), 2014, ISBN 978-1408326480
* *Torch*, Enclave Escape, 2021, ISBN 1621841588

### Ultraviolet Series

* *Ultraviolet*, Carolrhoda Books, 2013, ISBN 978-1467709149
* *Quicksilver*, Carolrhoda Books, 2013, ISBN 978-0761387992

### Uncommon Magic Series

* *A Pocket Full of Murder*, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2015, ISBN 978-1481437714
* *A Little Taste of Poison*, Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016, ISBN 978-1481437745

## Links

* **Official Website:** http://www.rj-anderson.com/
* **Personal Blog:** https://rj-anderson.tumblr.com/
* **Faery Rebels Blog:** http://faeryrebels.tumblr.com (please do not pay attention to the link in her latest post as the new account has been hacked, please instead follow her personal blog linked above)