Philip Pullman is a prolific English writer, author of novels, short stories, children’s books, comics, plays and nonfiction. He began writing while he was a teacher at Oxford and was working part-time at Westminster College when Northern Lights, the first novel of his trilogy His Dark Materials, was published. The Book of Dust, a companion trilogy to His Dark Materials, was started in 2008, with the first instalment, La Belle Sauvage, published in 2017. He is involved in several campaigns advocating for education, along with book-related and political issues.
Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman
The Secret Commonwealth
Watch
Philip Pullman
On A Tale for Young and Old
Philip Pullman
Reading Antonio Tabucchi’s Pereira Maintains
Watch
HM Queen Camilla
On Philip Pullman
Philip Pullman
On Writing The Secret Commonwealth
Watch
Philip Pullman
On Daemons and Our Nature
The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies
By Robert Kirk
Watch
Philip Pullman
On The Secret Commonwealth Of Elves, Fauns And Fairies
Watch
Philip Pullman
On Not Defining
Featured book by Philip Pullman
The Secret Commonwealth
The second volume of Pullman’s second trilogy The Book of Dust, this novel follows the protagonist, Lyra, in her second year as a student at Oxford. Pulled into a dark and mysterious world by her daemon, Pantalaimon, Lyra will find herself on a dangerous journey into the East in search of the elusive Dust, while Malcolm Polstead will travel on an equally treacherous journey of his own.
Read moreAuthor recommends
The Summer Book
By Tove Jansson
Recommended by: Philip Pullman & Elizabeth Gilbert
Publish Date: 1972
An elderly artist and her six-year-old granddaughter Sophia spend their summer together on a tiny island in the Gulf of Finland. As they explore the nature on the island, they talk about their life and feelings, yet never mentioning the…
Pereira Maintains
By Antonio Tabucchi
Recommended by: Philip Pullman
Publish Date: 1994 Awards: 1994 Premio Campiello; 1994 Viareggio Prize; 1994 Premio Scanno
Set against the backdrop of António Salazar’s dictatorship, the book follows Pereira, a journalist struggling to come to terms with the rise of fascism, the death of his wife, and the child they never had. A chance encounter with a…
The Palm-Wine Drinkard
By Amos Tutuola
Recommended by: Philip Pullman
Publish Date: 1952
The book follows an alcoholic man as he sets off on a journey through the land of the dead in search of his palm-wine tapster. Filled with terrifying supernatural beings and fearsome creatures, the novel draws from traditional Yoruba folktales…