Kelly, Tom 1961–

PERSONAL:

Born 1961, in NJ; married; children: Molly, Kitty.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Hereford, England.

CAREER:

Playwright and novelist. Has also worked as a mail deliverer, bartender, video shop owner, conservationist, and phone worker.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Writers' Guild prize; Waterstone's Children's Book Award shortlist, 2007, for The Thing with Finn.

WRITINGS:

The Thing with Finn (novel), Macmillan (London, England), 2007, published as Finn's Going, Greenwillow (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of radio dramas performed on BBC Radio 3 and 4.

SIDELIGHTS:

Tom Kelly is an American-born playwright living in England. His debut work for young readers, Finn's Going, appeared in 2007.

"Children engage completely with literature," Kelly told a contributor in the Hereford Times. "They're the toughest audience and if there's no emotional truth in what you're doing they'll see through you straight away."

Finn's Going centers on Danny, a sensitive ten-year-old who is struggling to cope with the death of his identical twin brother, Finn. A grief-stricken Danny runs away from home, returning to the island where his family enjoyed its last vacation together. There he meets Nulty, an artist who has suffered the loss of his wife and son, and who helps the youngster learn to deal with his feelings of guilt and anger. "The protagonist's voice is authentically childlike," observed School Library Journal reviewer Emily Rodriguez, and Janis Flint-Ferguson described the work in Kliatt as "alternately funny and sad." Although some critics faulted the novel's surprise ending, Booklist critic Krista Hutley described Finn's Going as a "life-affirming book, full of poignant insights into how people try to protect themselves and each other from tragedy," and the Hereford Times critic concluded: "Heart-warming and heart-breaking in equal measure, 10-year-old Danny's journey is one that readers will want to share over and again."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 1, 2007, Krista Hutley, review of Finn's Going, p. 88.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, July-August, 2007, Deborah Stevenson, review of Finn's Going, p. 473.

Hereford Times (Hereford, England), January 4, 2007, "Finn Puts Tom in Line for Top Award."

Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2007, review of Finn's Going.

Kliatt, May, 2007, Janis Flint-Ferguson, review of Finn's Going, p. 15.

Publishers Weekly, May 21, 2007, review of Finn's Going, p. 55.

School Library Journal, June, 2007, Emily Rodriguez, review of Finn's Going, p. 148.

Voice of Youth Advocates, August, 2007, Haley Benisch, review of Finn's Going, p. 244.

ONLINE

HarperCollins Web site,http://www.harpercollins.com/ (August 1, 2008), "Tom Kelly."