Philip Pullman, 1946 - Philip Pullman was born in 1946 and spent part of his youth living in Australia and graduated from Oxford University with a degree in English. Pullman is the author of many acclaimed novels, plays, and picture books for readers of all ages. He is a recent recipient of the highest award given for children's literature in England, the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Fiction Award for "The Golden Compass," the first book of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy.