Alice Kuipers

{{Infobox writer

| name = Alice Kuipers

| image = Author Alice Kuipers head shot purple.jpg

| imagesize =

| caption = Kuipers in 2013

| pseudonym =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|06|29|df=y}}

| birth_place = London, United Kingdom

| occupation = Novelist

| alma_mater = University of Manchester

| citizenship = United Kingdom, Canada

| period = 2007–present

| genres = Young adult, children's

| subject =

| movement =

| notableworks = Life on the Refrigerator Door, 40 Things I Want To Tell You, The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost For Words in the U.S.), The Death of Us, Me (and) Me

| partner = Yann Martel (2002–present)

| website = {{URL|alicekuipers.com}}

| children = 4

}}

Alice Kuipers (born 29 June 1979) is a British author living in Saskatchewan, Canada who is best known for her young adult novels. Life on the Refrigerator Door won the Grand Prix de Viarmes, the Livrentête Prize, the Redbridge Teenage Book Award in 2008 and the Saskatchewan First Book Award in 2007, was narrated as an audio book by Amanda Seyfried and Dana Delany, and has been adapted for theater in England, France and Japan. 40 Things I Want To Tell You won a Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature in 2013. The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost For Words in the U.S.) won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book in 2011.

Early life

Kuipers was born the first of three children in London, England[http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/alicekuipers Panmacmillan website, Author Profile: Alice Kuipers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204012719/http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/alicekuipers |date=4 February 2015 }}. Retrieved 21 July 2013.[http://www.harpercollins.com/author/microsite/About.aspx?authorid=32799 Harper Collins website, Author Profile: Alice Kuipers]. Retrieved 21 July 2013.Grove, Bonnie (26 March 2012). [http://www.novelmatters.com/2012/03/interview-with-alice-kuipers-author-of.html Novel Matters, Interview with Alice Kuipers]. Novel Matters. Retrieved 21 July 2012. and is of Dutch and English descent. She attended the Westminster School in London, before receiving a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Manchester University. She later graduated with Distinction with a Master of Arts degree in Writing from Manchester Metropolitan University. Her mother is Head of the Department of Psychology at King's College in London, England and a Professor of Clinical Psychology. Her father works as an advisor to local and central government on criminal and civil justice systems, and was previously a Chair of Governors and troubleshooting at OFSTED.

At eighteen, Kuipers travelled alone for a year with an itinerary that included the Cook Islands, New Zealand, Cambodia, Australia, Vietnam and the U.S., which she has stated had a significant influence on her work. In an interview with Chatelaine magazine, Kuipers said, "I could spend my whole life exploring it [the world] and never come close to seeing everything there is to see... I learned not to worry too much if I took a wrong step. Something would come of whichever route I chose."Black, Grant (27 May 2011). [http://www.chatelaine.com/living/alice-kuipers-a-woman-of-style-and-substance/ Alice Kuipers: "A Woman of Style and Substance"]. Chatelaine Magazine, Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2013.

Kuipers moved to Saskatchewan, Canada and settled there in 2003. She lives in Saskatoon, with her husband, the writer Yann Martel, and their four young children.

Career

Kuipers' debut young adult novel in 2007, Life on the Refrigerator Door, sold in twenty-eight countries and was the winner of the Saskatchewan First Book Award,[http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/awards-by-year.php#div_year_2007 Saskatchewan First Book Award 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803064516/http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/awards-by-year.php#div_year_2007 |date=3 August 2013 }}. Saskatchewan Book Awards, Canada. Retrieved 22 July 2013. the Sheffield Libraries Choice Award and the Grand Prix de Viarmes. It was long-listed for the Carnegie Medal.[http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/saskatoon/author/alice-kuipers The Word on the Street, Author Alice Kuipers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131027132510/http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca/wots/saskatoon/author/alice-kuipers |date=27 October 2013 }}. National Book & Magazine Festival, Saskatoon, 22 September 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2013. The audio version of the novel was narrated by Amanda Seyfried and Dana Delany in 2007.[https://www.amazon.com/Life-on-the-Refrigerator-Door/dp/B000VKCIWM Amazon]. Amazon listing USA. Retrieved 22 March 2016. It was adapted for theatre and staged in London, England in 2014 and in Paris, France in 2016.[http://www.theatredeparis.com/spectacle/frigo Schedule for the Théâtre de Paris, Paris France, 2016]. Retrieved 19 March 2016.[http://www.offi.fr/theatre/theatre-de-paris-3269/je-tai-laisse-un-mot-sur-le-frigo-60121.html L'Officiel des Spectacles, Paris France, 2016]. Retrieved 19 March 2016. Life on the Refrigerator Door is told through a series of notes and post-its written from a mother to her fifteen-year-old daughter before and during a family crisis.

Kuipers' second young adult novel in 2010, The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost For Words in the U.S.), sold in 9 territories and won the Arthur Ellis Award, Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book 2011 and the OLA White Pine Official Selection 2011.Medley, Mark (3 June 2011). [http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/06/03/louise-penny-and-stevie-cameron-among-winners-of-arthur-ellis-awards/ Winners of Arthur Ellis Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130801090507/http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/06/03/louise-penny-and-stevie-cameron-among-winners-of-arthur-ellis-awards/ |date=1 August 2013 }}. National Post, Canada. Retrieved 21 July 2013.Arthur Ellis Awards, Best Juvenile or Young Adult Crime Book 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2013.[http://crimewriterscanada.com/awards/arthur-ellis-awards/past-winners/665-winners-2011 Crime Writers Canada Awards, Arthur Eliis Awards, Past Winners 2011]. Retrieved 22 July 2013. This novel deals with confronting past tragedy and is set in London, England.Bell, Meghan (Spring 2013). [https://roommagazine.com/blog/interview-alice-kuipers-style-crime-writing-and-expansion-genre Interview with Alice Kuipers: On Style, Crime Writing, and the Expansion of Genre]. Room Magazine, Canada. Retrieved 22 March 2016.

40 Things I Want To Tell You was published in 2012 and rights were sold in Germany, Greece, Denmark and Croatia.[http://www.harpercollins.ca/books/40-Things-I-Want-to-Tell-You-Alice-Kuipers?isbn=9781443405874&HCHP=TB_40+Things+I+Want+to+Tell+You Harper Collins Canada page, 40 Things I Want To Tell You] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106031847/http://www.harpercollins.ca/books/40-Things-I-Want-to-Tell-You-Alice-Kuipers?isbn=9781443405874&HCHP=TB_40%20Things%20I%20Want%20to%20Tell%20You |date=6 January 2014 }}. Retrieved 31 July 2013. It won a Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature in 2013[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/writers-honoured-at-saskatchewan-book-awards-1.1302360 Writers Honoured at Saskatchewan Book Awards], CBC News: Regina, Saskatchewan, 28 April 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.[http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/index.php Saskatchewan Book Awards Official website, 20th Anniversary Book Awards Winners] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810053931/http://bookawards.sk.ca/index.php |date=10 August 2013 }}, 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013. and was a 2013 Young Adult Honour Book for the Canadian Library Association.[http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=13937 Shortlist, Young Adult Book Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130918071947/http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=13937&TEMPLATE=%2FCM%2FContentDisplay.cfm |date=18 September 2013 }}, Canadian Library Association 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.[http://canlitforlittlecanadiansawards.blogspot.ca/2013/04/2013-canadian-library-association-book.html%20 Canada Library Association, Canadian Literature for Little Canadians Awards 2013]. Retrieved 31 July 2013. Kuipers' third novel is about a teenage writer of an on-line advice column for teenagers, who is unable to follow her own good advice.

In 2014, three books by Kuipers were published. The Death of Us, a young adult novel, is a coming of age story about two young girls involved in a deadly car accident.Doerksen, Karen (31 July 2014). [http://www.nationalreadingcampaign.ca/childrens-book-review-the-death-of-us/ Children's Book Review: The Death of Us]. National Reading Campaign. Retrieved 30 October 2014.Duggan, Charlotte (17 October 2014). [http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol21/no7/thedeathofus.html Book Review: The Death of Us]. The Manitoba Library Association. Retrieved 30 October 2014. As well, The Best Ever Bookworm Book, by Violet and Victor Small, a book for children illustrated by Bethanie Murguia,[http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alice-kuipers/violet-and-victor-write-the-best-ever-bookworm-book/9780316212007/ Hachette Book Group: The Best Ever Bookworm Book]. Hachette Book Group. Retrieved 22 March 2016. and Lost and Curious Things, an interactive ebook, were published.[http://www.schools.fictionexpress.co.uk/attachments/31_104_attachment_L&C_chap1_sample.pdf Fiction Express: Alice Kuipers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004224841/http://www.schools.fictionexpress.co.uk/attachments/31_104_attachment_L%26C_chap1_sample.pdf |date=4 October 2016 }}. Fiction Express. Retrieved 22 March 2016.

In 2015, Kuipers' short story, Ten Minutes, "the raw, beautiful story of a young woman's journey towards self-awareness and wellness" was released.[http://fierceinkpress.com/authors/alice-kuipers/ Fierce Ink Press: Alice Kuipers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326084943/http://fierceinkpress.com/authors/alice-kuipers/ |date=26 March 2016 }}. Fierce Ink Press. Retrieved 22 March 2016. Two more books by Kuipers were published in 2016: Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale, again with illustrator Bethanie Murguia,[http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alice-kuipers/violet-and-victor-write-the-most-fabulous-fairy-tale/9780316212021/#desc Hachette Book Group: Author Entry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418170048/http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/alice-kuipers/violet-and-victor-write-the-most-fabulous-fairy-tale/9780316212021/#desc |date=18 April 2016 }}. Hachette Book Group site. Retrieved 22 March 2016.[https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/alice-kuipers/violet-and-victor-write-the-most-fabulous-fairy-ta/ Kirkus Reviews: Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 22 March 2016. as well as Secrets of the Badlands, an interactive ebook.[http://schools.fictionexpress.co.uk/en/catalogue/secretsofthebadlands/ Fiction Express: Secrets of the Badlands]. Fiction Express. Retrieved 22 March 2016. In 2017, Kuipers released another young adult novel, Me (and) Me, about a rising rock star, forced to make a terrible choice "and in that moment her world splits into two distinct lives".[http://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443448833/me-and-me Harper Collins Canada: Alice Kuipers]. Harper Collins Canada. Retrieved 28 June 2017.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/alice-kuipers-me-and-me-book-saskatchewan-1.4062549 Regret, indecision explored in Saskatoon author's upcoming novel]. CBC News. Retrieved 28 June 2017.

Kuipers' non-fiction has been published in Easy Living Magazine, the Sunday Telegraph and the Bristol Review of Books. She has also written for the children's market.

Since 1999, Kuipers has led writing workshops in Hong Kong, the UK, Australia, Canada and the US, including a workshop in the Yukon in 2004.[http://www.writerscoop.org/writers-coop-classes-2009-2010.html Saskatchewan Writers Coop, Workshops 2009-2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207205350/http://writerscoop.org/writers-coop-classes-2009-2010.html |date=7 December 2013 }}. Retrieved 22 July 2013.[http://www.sagehillwriting.ca/alumni/list#searchtop Sage Hill Writing, Canada: Alumni Teen Writing Experience 2008, 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921153102/http://www.sagehillwriting.ca/alumni/list#searchtop |date=21 September 2013 }}. Retrieved 22 July 2013. She has been an invited lecturer and workshop leader at several festivals, including Montreal Blue Met Festival, Brisbane Festival of Literature, The Word on the Street Saskatoon, Wordfest Calgary, and The Vancouver Writers Fest, and was keynote presenter at the Saskatchewan Festival of Words in 2010.[http://www.wordfest.com/?s=kuipers Wordfest Calgary, Alice Kuipers]. Retrieved 22 July 2013.

In 2008, she won the Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor's Artists Award '30 Below' for young artists.[http://www.artsboard.sk.ca/showcase/awards-and-honours/lieutenant-governors-arts-awards/1683-2008-lieutenant-governors-arts-awards Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governors Arts Awards]. Retrieved 21 July 2013. In 2010, she spent a year as Saskatoon Public Library Writer in Residence,[http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/node/480 Saskatoon Library, Historical List, Writers in Residence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408063113/http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/node/480 |date=8 April 2013 }}. Retrieved 21 July 2013. working with community groups, individuals, teaching workshops and visiting schools.[http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/alicekuipers Saskatoon Library Writer in Residence Profile, Alice Kuipers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408065207/http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/alicekuipers |date=8 April 2013 }}. Retrieved 21 July 2013.

Kuipers worked with software developer, Rich Lowenberg, to create the first Writing Tips App for iPhone, which went on to be the second bestselling app in the Educational Apps Listings in both the US and Canada in 2010.

Published works

Life on the Refrigerator Door (2007)
"ne t'inquiéte pas pour moi" (2008)
'You Today' (Short Story) (2008)
The Worst Thing She Ever Did (Lost For Words in the U.S.) (2010)
Writing Tips App for iPhone (co-written with Rich Lowenberg in 2010)
40 Things I Want to Tell You (2012)
Death of Us (2014)
The Bookworm Book, by Violet and Victor Small (2014)
Lost and Curious Things (Interactive eBook) (2014)
'Ten Minutes' (Short Story) (2015)
Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale (2016)
Secrets of the Badlands (Interactive eBook) (2016)
Me (and) Me (2017)

Awards

Life on the Refrigerator Door
A New York Public Library "Book for the Teen Age" (US) 2008[http://www.nypl.org/sites/default/files/bta_2008-rev.pdf New York Public Library, Book for the Teen Age 2008]. New York Public Library, USA. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
Winner of the Redbridge Teenage Book Award (UK) 2008[http://www2.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/leisure_and_libraries/libraries/schools_library_service/childrens_book_award/current_and_previous_winners.aspx Redbridge Teenage Book Award 2008] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304103552/http://www2.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/leisure_and_libraries/libraries/schools_library_service/childrens_book_award/current_and_previous_winners.aspx |date=4 March 2016 }}. Redbridge Teenage Book Award, UK. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
Winner of the Sheffield Libraries Choice Book Award (UK) 2008
Winner of the Grand Prix de Viarmes (France) 2008
Winner of the [http://www.mediatheque-conquet.fr/livrentete.php Prix Livrentête, Prix Livrentête], (France) 2008
Winner of the Sweyne Park School Year 7 Book Award (UK) 2008[http://sweynepark.com/html/learning/library/past.html Sweyne Park School Past Events]. Sweyne Park School online, London, UK. Retrieved 26 March 2016.
Winner of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130803064516/http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/awards-by-year.php#div_year_2007 Saskatchewan First Book Award (Canada) 2007]
Shortlisted for the [http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/140/coventry_inspiration_book_awards/2599/coventry_inspiration_book_awards_2016 Coventry Inspiration Book Award] (UK) 2008
Shortlisted for the [https://web.archive.org/web/20160410115055/https://books.rm.com/oxfordshire-book-awards/ Oxfordshire Book Awards] (UK) 2008
Shortlisted for the [http://www.slcolibrary.org/rc/rcwr/pdf/booklists/booklistRCWinners1013.pdf/ Salt Lake City County Library System Reader's Choice Award] (US) 2008
Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal (literary award) (UK) 2008
Winner of [http://www.artsboard.sk.ca/showcase/awards-and-honours/lieutenant-governors-arts-awards/1683-2008-lieutenant-governors-arts-awards%20Saskatchewan%20Lieutenant%20Governors%20Arts%20Awards Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor's Artists Award for young artists '30 Below' in 2008]
'You Today'
Shortlisted for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Literary Awards for Short Stories (Canada) 2009
Writing Tips App for iPhone (co-written)
Number 2 bestselling app in the Educational Apps Listings in US and Canada in 2010
The Worst Thing She Ever Did
Winner of the Arthur Ellis Award, Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book (Canada) 2011
White Pine Award of the Ontario Library Association, Official Selection, (Canada) 2011
Bank Street College of Education's Best Children's Books of the Year selection (Canada) for 2011
The Canadian Children's Book Centre's Best Books for Kids and Teens, 2011 selection
40 Things I Want To Tell You
Winner of the Saskatchewan Book Award for Young Adult Literature (Canada) 2013
Young Adult Honour Book for the Canadian Library Association 2013
The Death of Us
Nominated for the 2015 SaskEnergy Young Adult Literature Award[http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/awards/awards-nominees/2015-awards-and-nominees/category/saskenergy-young-adult-literature-award-2 Nominees for the 2015 SaskEnergy Young Adult Literature Award] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160406204341/http://www.bookawards.sk.ca/awards/awards-nominees/2015-awards-and-nominees/category/saskenergy-young-adult-literature-award-2 |date=6 April 2016 }}. Saskatchewan Book Awards. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
Shortlisted for the Canadian Library Association 2015 Young Adult Book Award
The Best Ever Bookworm Book, by Violet and Victor Small
Selected as an Amazon Best Pick for December 2014
Included in Book Riot's "Favorite Picture Book Art of 2014"
Violet and Victor Write the Most Fabulous Fairytale
Part of the Winter 2015 Kids' Indie Next List

Theatrical adaptations

Life on the Refrigerator Door has been successfully adapted for stage in three languages. It was first adapted and directed by Amy Draper in 2014 at the Yard Theatre in Hackney Wick, London, England, starring Cassandra Bond and Angela Clerkin.[http://www.amydraper.co.uk/life-on-the-refrigerator-door/ Amy Draper Directs Life on the Refrigerator Door, London, UK, 2016]. Retrieved 19 March 2016.[http://www.theyardtheatre.co.uk/event-archive/n-o-w-14-week-9/ The Yard Theatre Event Archive: Life on the Refrigerator Door, London, UK, 2016] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019081558/http://www.theyardtheatre.co.uk/event-archive/n-o-w-14-week-9/ |date=19 October 2015 }}. Retrieved 19 March 2016.[http://www.offwestend.com/index.php/plays/view/11131 offwestend.com Event Archive: Life on the Refrigerator Door, London, UK, 2016]. Retrieved 19 March 2016.

File:Paris Théâtre dP Fronton 2012.jpg

In March 2016, it was staged in Paris, France under the name Je T'ai Laisse Un Mot Sur Le Frigo at the Théâtre de Paris in the Salle Réjane. The play was adapted and directed by Marie-Pascale Osterrieth and starred Michèle Bernier and Charlotte Gaccio.[http://www.non-stop-people.com/actu/cinema/michele-bernier-ses-tendres-confessions-sur-son-role-de-maman-98978 Michèle Bernier: Ses Tendres Confessions Sur Son Rôle de Maman, NonStop People, Paris France, 2016]. Retrieved 19 March 2016. The building which houses the current Théâtre de Paris was first built in 1730, and later converted to the New Theater in 1891 where the works of playwrights such as Henrik Ibsen have been presented.[http://www.theatredeparis.com/le-theatre/histoire-du-lieu A History of the Théâtre de Paris, Paris France, 2016]. Retrieved 19 March 2016.

The story was staged in Japan in June 2016 under the name Reizōko no Ue no Jinsei at the Sogetsu Hall Theater in Tokyo and at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture.[http://www1.gcenter-hyogo.jp/sysfile/center/news/2016/201602/0225_reizoko.html Hyogo Centre News: Life on the Refrigerator Door, June, 2016]. Retrieved 23 March 2016. The adaptation was by Noriko Sanya and the play was directed by Shatama Sakae with music direction by Yasuhiro Kasamatsu.[http://www.life-on-refrigerator.com/ Official Site: Life on the Refrigerator Door]. Retrieved 23 March 2016.

Influences

In various interviews and Q and A sessions, Kuipers has named Hermann Hesse, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Emily Brontë, Elizabeth Strout, Valerie Martin, Dr. Seuss, Mo Willems and Louisa May Alcott as having positively influenced her work. In an interview with Novel Matters, Kuipers said the novel she "most loved is called The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse" and that she admired Tennessee Williams' ability to write dialogue.

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.alicekuipers.com/}}
[http://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=1141943 Alice Kuipers on CTV Morning Live, Literary Segment, CTV News Saskatoon]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20130612110145/http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/32799/Alice_Kuipers/index.aspx Harper Collins, Author Profile of Alice Kuipers]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20150204012719/http://www.panmacmillan.com/author/alicekuipers Panmacmillan Author Profile for Alice Kuipers]
[http://www.fischerverlage.de/autor/Alice_Kuipers/19141 Fischer Verlage Publishing, Germany, Author Profile for Alice Kuipers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110831010514/http://www.fischerverlage.de/autor/alice_kuipers/19141 |date=31 August 2011 }}
[http://www.paperblog.fr/777727/alice-kuipers/ Magazine Culture, France, Author Profile for Alice Kuipers]
[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/149625.Alice_Kuipers Alice Kuipers at Goodreads]
[https://openlibrary.org/search?q=alice+kuipers Works by Alice Kuipers] on Open Library at the Internet Archive
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