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Philippa Dowding

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Philippa Dowding

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Philippa Dowding is an author, poet, and composer/musician based in Toronto. She is the winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, Young People's Literature, Text, and the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Children's Book Award, for her book FIREFLY.

Philippa began writing poetry and short stories at age nine. She studied English Language & Literature at Western University in London, Ontario, and completed an M.A. in English at The University of Toronto. Soon after graduating, she began her professional writing life as a copywriter in the magazine and newspaper industry, where she won many industry awards.

When she had a family, she began telling bedtime stories to her children. One story, about a lost gargoyle living in a child's backyard in dow
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Philippa Dowding Hi Brayden! Thanks for asking that great question, no one has ever asked that before so I'll have to think about my answer. I guess in terms of nomina…moreHi Brayden! Thanks for asking that great question, no one has ever asked that before so I'll have to think about my answer. I guess in terms of nominations and awards, The Gargoyle at the Gates (my third book), was probably the most popular. But my fourth book, The Strange Gift of Gwendolyn Golden, has the most reviews and want-to-read or currently-reading interest on Goodreads, so it seems to be pretty popular too. So they are pretty closely tied, I think. Hope this answers your question! Philippa(less)
Philippa Dowding Hi Bobbi! Thanks for asking my first question on here. I love gargoyles, too, but the idea for the stories came from a visit to an antique store here …moreHi Bobbi! Thanks for asking my first question on here. I love gargoyles, too, but the idea for the stories came from a visit to an antique store here in Toronto. One night I was visiting a relative on Queen St east, and my children and I walked into an antique store. The back stairs were glowing, and when I walked over to look, I saw a gargoyle with a candle on each step. I looked away, when I looked back it really looked like each gargoyle had moved, just a little. That night I told my children a bedtime story about a gargoyle that had followed us home. After several weeks of telling more and more bedtime stories about the gargoyle, my daughter (who was 9 at the time), said, "that's good Mum, you should write that down." I realized, hey, she's right! It's a good character. So that's how I started writing about gargoyles, and I love them more every time I write a new book about them. Thanks for asking! Philippa(less)
Average rating: 3.97 · 1,204 ratings · 294 reviews · 22 distinct worksSimilar authors
Firefly

4.01 avg rating — 269 ratings — published 2021 — 3 editions
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The Strange Gift of Gwendol...

3.64 avg rating — 244 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions
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Oculum (The Children of Ocu...

3.93 avg rating — 175 ratings2 editions
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The Gargoyle at the Gates

4.23 avg rating — 79 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions
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Myles and the Monster Outsi...

4.11 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions
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The Gargoyle Overhead (Lost...

3.93 avg rating — 59 ratings — published 2010 — 7 editions
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Carter and the Curious Maze...

3.93 avg rating — 57 ratings — published 2016 — 4 editions
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The Gargoyle in My Yard (Lo...

really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 55 ratings — published 2009 — 10 editions
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Jake and the Giant Hand (We...

4.11 avg rating — 47 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions
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Everton Miles Is Stranger T...

4.07 avg rating — 42 ratings3 editions
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The Canadian Children's Book Centre selects Mr. Byrd as a BEST BOOK, Spring 2026

The Love Song of Mr. Byrd by Philippa Dowding

I'm delighted to announce that The Love Song of Mr. Byrd has been selected by the Canadian Children's Book Centre as a BEST BOOK for Spring 2026, in the Early Chapter books category.

This important list of Canadian books is curated by librarians and educators, and schools and libraries may purchase these books for their collections. It's a huge boost for an author and their publisher, congratul Read more of this blog post »
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Jake and the Giant Hand Myles and the Monster Outside Carter and the Curious Maze Alex and The Other: Weird S...
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The Gargoyle in My Yard The Gargoyle Overhead The Gargoyle at the Gates
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The Odyssey
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by Homer
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Fire Weather: A T...
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Rogue Protocol
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by Martha Wells (Goodreads Author)
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The War Lantern by Philippa Dowding
The War Lantern
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The Odyssey by Homer
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Vigil by George Saunders
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Middlemarch by George Eliot
" Monica wrote: "I have a friend who reads "Middlemarch" every year. She loves it as much as you do. I enjoyed your review of the book I've yet to read. ...more "
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Middlemarch by George Eliot
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I read George Eliot's/Marian Evans' masterpiece for the first time at the beginning of COVID in 2020. I'm so glad I revisited it this year (2026); it's even richer on second reading and I imagine on successive readings for as long as one would like! ...more
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The Toronto Book of the Dead by Adam Bunch
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Vigil by George Saunders
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Fire Weather by John Vaillant
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What We Can Know by Ian McEwan
What We Can Know
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I once sat behind Ian McEwan at a reading series in Toronto; he was there to promote NUTSHELL (not one of his better works maybe, but interesting). I tried to absorb the wonder of getting the last ticket to the event only to find him sitting right in ...more
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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Cozy Mysteries : 2016 Spring Challenge 135 174 Jun 23, 2016 10:25AM  
Crazy Challenge C...: A-Z Characters Male - 2015 119 100 Nov 12, 2016 07:41PM  
NetGalley Readers: This topic has been closed to new comments. Books read in 2016 - Target 50,000 1059 431 Jan 12, 2017 01:11PM  
Crazy Challenge C...: 2016 Namedroppers 283 216 May 10, 2017 08:37AM  
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“If I had my life to live over again, I would focus on the getting and eating of ice cream.”
Bob Odenkirk, A Load of Hooey

“I have spent a good many years since―too many, I think―being ashamed about what I write. I think I was forty before I realized that almost every writer of fiction or poetry who has ever published a line has been accused by someone of wasting his or her God-given talent. If you write (or paint or dance or sculpt or sing, I suppose), someone will try to make you feel lousy about it, that's all.”
Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

“I've been all over the world and I've never seen a statue of a critic.”
Leonard Bernstein

“Genius is more often found in a cracked pot than in a whole one.”
E.B. White

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Kristin Butcher Hi Philippa,
Hope all is well in your world. I haven't fallen off the face of the earth; just left the social network. (It's been a year and a half already.) It wasn't a a healthy fit for me. New book coming out next spring. In the meantime, I'm honing my painting skills. Who knows? Perhaps I can become an illustrator. To catch up on my activity or to get in touch, please visit me at my website: www.kristinbutcher.com


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