Patrick Ness

Patrick Ness FRSL (born 17 October 1971) is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter. Born in the United States, Ness moved to London and holds dual citizenship. He is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking (2008–2010) trilogy and A Monster Calls.

Ness won the annual Carnegie Medal in 2011 and in 2012, for Monsters of Men and A Monster Calls.

After graduating, he worked as corporate writer for a cable company. He published his first story in Genre in 1997 and was working on his first novel when he moved to London in 1999.

Career Ness's first novel, The Crash of Hennington, was published in 2003, and was followed by his short story collection, Topics About Which I Know Nothing, in 2004.

Ness's first young adult novel was The Knife of Never Letting Go. It won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 2008. and have been included in the 2013 UK print editions of the novels.

A Monster Calls originated with the Irish writer, Siobhan Dowd, who had been diagnosed with cancer and was unable to complete the story before she died in 2007. Dowd and Ness shared an editor at Walker Books, Denise Johnstone-Burt, and after Dowd's death, Walker arranged for Ness to complete the story from her notes. Ness says his only guideline was to write a book he thought Dowd would have liked. Jim Kay was hired to illustrate the book, and the two completed the book without meeting. Ness won the Carnegie and Kay won the companion Kate Greenaway Medal, the first time one book has won both medals.

His fourth young adult novel, More Than This, was published on 5 September 2013. It later made the Carnegie Medal shortlist of 2015.

The Crane Wife, Ness's third novel for adults, was published on 30 December 2014.

In 2014, Ness delivered the keynote speech at the Children's and Young Adult Program of the Berlin International Literature Festival.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here was published 25 August 2015 in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand, and 5 October 2015 in Canada and the United States.

On 1 October 2015, the BBC announced that Ness would be writing a Doctor Who spin-off entitled Class. The resulting eight-part series aired on BBC Three's online channel toward the end of 2016. The BBC cancelled Class after one series, A later series of audio dramas produced by Big Finish Productions also feature the characters.

Release, was published on 4 May 2017, described by Ness as a "private and intense book" inspired more by his personal feelings than any before it.

In June 2021, Ness was said to be preparing a prequel script to the Napoleonic sea adventure movie Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, based on the works of Patrick O'Brian.

In March 2025, Ness's first book for adults in over a decade, Meridian, was announced, to be published in spring 2027 by Canongate Books. Later that month, Ness was attached to write the screenplay for an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo, starring and produced by Regé-Jean Page.

Personal life Ness was naturalised as a British citizen in 2005. He entered into a civil partnership with his partner in 2006, less than two months after the Civil Partnership Act came into force. In February 2023, Patrick disclosed on Instagram that he had married Nick Coveney in Las Vegas in October 2022. He also stated that within the previous "4 or 5 years" he had divorced.

In 2023, Ness was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Awards

The Rest of Us Just Live Here received many awards, including six starred reviews and the Kirkus Best Book of the Year.

Works

Novels

Novels for young adults

Chaos Walking series The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008) The Ask and the Answer (2009) Monsters of Men (2010) Short stories 1.5. "The New World" (2009) 2.5. "The Wide, Wide Sea" (2013) 3.5. "Snowscape" (2013)

The New World Trilogy Piper at the Gates of Dusk (Spring 2026)

Standalone

(2017)

Short stories "Different for Boys", collected in Losing it (2010) "Doctor Who: Tip of the Tongue" (2013), collected in Thirteen Doctors, 13 Stories (2019) "This Whole Demoing Thing", collected in Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales, ed. Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (2014)

Collections Topics About Which I Know Nothing (2004), collection of 11 short stories: "Implied Violence", "The Way All Trends Do", "Ponce de Leon is a Retired Married Couple From Toronto", "Jesus' Elbows and Other Christian Urban Myths", "Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?", "Sydney is a City of Jaywalkers", "2,115 Opportunities", "The Motivations of Sally Rae Wentworth, Amazon", "The Seventh International Military War Games Dance Committee Quadrennial Competition and Jamboree", "The Gifted", "Now That You've Died"

Filmography