M. T. Anderson

Matthew Tobin Anderson (born November 4, 1968) is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. Anderson is known for using wit and sarcasm in his stories, His father, Will Anderson, was an engineer, and his mother, Juliana Collins Anderson, was an Episcopal priest. He attended St. Mark's School, Harvard College, the University of Cambridge (England), and Syracuse University. Anderson worked at Candlewick Press before his first novel Thirsty was accepted for publication there. He has also worked as a disc jockey for WCUW radio; He currently lives in Vermont, and is on the Board of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, a national non-profit organization that advocates for literacy, literature, and libraries.

Writing style

Anderson is known for challenging his readers, of varying ages, to look at the world in new ways. Anderson has also remarked, "We write because we can't decipher things the first time around."

While he was writing Feed, Anderson took in younger, pop-culture-oriented media, such as Seventeen, Maxim, and Teen Vogue. He used these media sources to convey an accurate teenage voice, but in a more depleted, abbreviated form. He's used this method many times, including reading 18th century novels during his writing of The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing. Feed has also been regarded as a literary source for young adults to not only expand their knowledge of citizenship outside of the everyday youth status, but also increase their capacity for social change. The novel also focuses on the dependent nature of the characters; everyone is so dependent on the feed's transmissions that everything else in society decays.

Thirsty

Thirsty is the story of Chris, a teenage boy who is growing up to become a vampire while the people of his town (Boston) dedicate their time to fighting such dreaded creatures.

National Book Award Young People's Literature Finalist

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award — Honor Book 2006

National Book Award Young People's Literature Winner Boston Globe–Horn Book Award — Winner 2018 The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge National Book Award Young People's Literature Finalist 2019 Feed; The Pox Party; The Kingdom on the Waves Margaret Edwards Award — Winner 2024 The Collectors: Stories Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2024 Elf Dog and Owl Head Newbery Honor Book Honor Book Selected works

Novels

Thirsty (1997) Burger Wuss (1999) Feed (2002) Landscape with Invisible Hand (2017). The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin (2018). Elf Dog and Owl Head (2023) Nicked (2024)

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation

Volume I: The Pox Party (2006) Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves (2008)

Pals in Peril series

Whales on Stilts (2005) The Clue of the Linoleum Lederhosen (2006) Jasper Dash and the Flame-Pits of Delaware (2009) Agent Q, or, The Smell of Danger (2010) Zombie Mommy (2011) He Laughed with His Other Mouths, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus (2014)

Norumbegan Quartet

The Game of Sunken Places (2004) The Suburb Beyond the Stars (2010) The Empire of Gut and Bone (2011) The Chamber in the Sky (2012)

Nonfiction

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad (2015)

Graphic novels

Yvain: The Knight of the Lion, with Andrea Offermann (2017) The Daughters of Ys, with Jo Rioux (2020).

Short fiction

"Barcarole for Paper and Bones", Shelf Life: Stories by the Book, edited by Gary Paulsen. (Simon & Schuster, 2003). "A Brief Guide to the Ghosts of Great Britain" (memoir), Open Your Eyes: Extraordinary Experiences in Faraway Places, edited by Jill Davis. (Viking, 2003). Reprinted in the September/October 2005 issue of the young adult literature magazine Cicada. "The Mud and Fever Dialogues", Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday, edited by Megan McCafferty. (Three Rivers Press, 2004). "Watch and Wake", Gothic: Ten Original Dark Tales, edited by Deborah Noyes. (Candlewick, 2004). "My Maturity, In Flames", Guys Write for Guys Read, edited by Jon Scieszka. (Viking, 2005). "The Old, Dead Nuisance" (2011) "The Bug Out Bag: What You Need to Stay Alive" (2012) "Bug Out: What to Do When It's Time to Get Out of Dodge" (2012)

Picture books Handel, Who Knew What He Liked (2001), illustrated by Kevin Hawkes — biography of George Frideric Handel Strange Mr. Satie (2003) Me, All Alone, at the End of the World (2004) The Serpent Came to Gloucester (2005)