Hilary Robinson (author)

Hilary Robinson
Born	23 January 1962(1962-01-23) Paignton, Devon, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Radio Producer, Children's Author, Feature Writer, Script Writer
Nationality	British
Notable work(s)	Mixed Up Fairy Tales; The Princess's Secret Letters
Influences Dr Seuz, Thomas Hardy, Paul Robeson
www.hilaryrobinson.co.uk

Hilary Robinson (born January 23, 1962 in Paignton, Devon) is a children’s author, book reviewer, award winning radio producer and feature writer. She is a Patron of The Children's University.

Background

The second of four daughters of university lecturers, Robinson grew up during the civil war in Zaria, Nigeria; Dorset and Yorkshire. Her father, P.H.Turner an economist and a biographer of David Livingstone established an educational trust and spearheaded the building of a non profit making private school in Zaria, Nigeria, which she attended with other local and overseas children including, theatre director, Rufus Norris. Her mother is a lecturer in mathematics with the Open University.

Career

Radio producer

Robinson worked at Radio Aire, TV-am and Yorkshire Television and the BBC's Faith and Ethics Department. She is now a freelance radio producer.

For six years, until January 2011, she produced BBC Radio 2’s Good Morning Sunday with Aled Jones.

Recent BBC radio documentaries include:

• The Robeson Files (2011) presented by Dotun Adebayo - which looked at the FBI and MI5 interest in Paul Robeson - a forerunner of the civil rights movement.

• Behind Enemy Lines (2009) presented by John McCarthy - an examination of the effect of captivity on survivors.

• Turn Your Radio On (2008) presented by Don Maclean – the wit and wisdom of Ray Stevens.

• In His Hands (2007) presented by Candi Staton - a powerful documentary about music borne out of domestic abuse.

• Lenny Bruce Is Dead (2006) presented by Simon Amstell - produced to mark the 40th anniversary of the premature death of one of America's most outspoken and persecuted comedians.

To mark the two hundredth anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade Robinson produced Hang A Thousand Trees With Ribbons – the true story of the published slave Phillis Wheatley, narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Sophie Okonedo, and Private Peaceful to mark Remembrance 2007 with Robson Green.

Children's author

The author of over 40 books her first book, written to help her young daughter cope with a fear of spiders, Sarah The Spider, was published in 1995. The following year the sequel, Sarah The Spider, Prima Spiderina was short-listed for Best Picture Book by the English Association.

She collaborated with illustrator Nick Sharratt on both Mixed Up Fairy Tales, and Spells and Smells for which she was shortlisted by Nottinghamshire City Council for the Experian Big Three Award in 2002.

Later that year, Ken Livingstone and the GLC invited her to write Pick It Up – an environmental book featuring litter detectives – which was read at a high profile launch by Lord Attenborough.

The Spanish edition of The Princess's Secret Letters saw the main character, Princess Isabella become renamed as Princess Letitia in recognition of the marriage in 2004 of Letizia Alvarez, a journalist, to the Spanish Heir Apparent, Felipe, Prince of Asturias.

She is an occasional book reviewer for Writeaway.

In June 2009 Yorkshire Ridings Magazine published figures released by the Public Lending Rights Office which listed Hilary as No 7 in a list of top twenty authors living in Yorkshire.

Campaigns

In September 2003 Robinson visited Durban, South Africa as part of an 8 person delegation to celebrate the Durban Book Appeal in which 60,000 donated books from Leeds were distributed at the Festival of Books, organised by READ (Reading Excellence and Discovery Foundation), to resource understocked libraries in schools. She worked in schools and libraries in many of the most deprived townships and attended the opening of the new Hambanathi library.

Hilary is a supporter of, and has worked with, a number of reading initiatives with schools in inner city areas. She has campaigned against the move to promote age banding on children's books collaborated with authors, illustrators and editors to oppose the war on Iraq and supports author Alan Gibbons' campaign against cuts to the library service.

Festival Appearances

Hilary has appeared at the Harrogate International Festival, the Edinburgh Children's Book Festival, the North of England Children's Book Festival, the Swansea Book Festival and the Sheffield Book Festival.

Journalism

Robinson has written features for The Times, The Times Educational Supplement, The Guardian, The Independent, The Yorkshire Post, Practical Parenting, Primary English, Family History Monthly and other specialist press.

Radio Awards

In 2004 she won the Gillard Gold Award for Religious Programming and was highly commended with an Andrew Cross Award for D Day – 60 Years On - a live broadcast from Normandy.

Writing in The Radio Magazine (issue 661) on 11 December 2004 after winning the Gillard Gold, Station Editor John Ryan described Hilary as "one of our secret weapons ... she has the ability to develop really creative treatments that make the religious subjects appeal way beyond the traditional audience for faith programmes."

Personal

Hilary lives and works in London and Yorkshire. She is a member of the Society of Authors, The Federation of Children's Books and The Radio Academy.

A keen skier, Hilary is a member of the Downhill Only Club, based in Wengen, Switzerland. She is the cousin of Jonathan Luxton, solo horn with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon.

Contacts

Hilary Robinson is represented by Sophie Hicks at Ed Victor Ltd Literary Agency (London) and Christina O'Connor - Media Guru (Manchester).

Books

• 1995 Sarah the Spider
• 1995 Sarah the Spider Prima Spiderina
• Learning English With Ozmo
• 1999 E-mail: Jesus@Bethlehem
• 1999 Sarah the Spider and the Barn Dancers
• 1999 Sarah the Spider’s Christmas Surprise
• 2000 Mr. Spotty’s Potty
• 2000 Spells and Smells
• 2002 Freddie’s Fears
• 2002 Pick it Up (The Green Gang)
• 2002 The Green Gang - Raffy’s Party
• 2002 Scrapman Stan And The Magical Mixer Fixer
• 2003 E-mail: Jesus@Anytime
• 2003 Flynn Flies High
• 2003 Pippin’s Big Jump
• 2004 Batty Betty’s Spells
• 2004 How to Teach a Dragon Manners
• 2004 Mixed Up Fairy Tales
• 2005 Cinder Wellie
• 2005 Croc by the Rock (also Big Book edition)
• 2005 Pet to School Day
• 2005 Rapunzel
• 2005 The Frog Prince
• 2005 The Princess’s Secret Letters
• 2006 Aladdin and the Lamp
• 2006 Over the Moon!
• 2006 The Little Match Girl
• 2006 The Royal Jumble Sale
• 2007 Pocahontas the Peacemaker
• 2007 The Princess’s Secret Sleepover
• 2008 Goldilocks and the Wolf
• 2008 Snow White and the Enormous Turnip (also Big Book edition)
• 2008 The Elves and the Emperor
• 2009 Ted’s Party Bus
• 2009 Three Pigs and a Gingerbread Man
• 2010 The Big Book of Magical Mix-Ups
• 2011 Hurray! It’s Book Day
• 2012 Mixed Up Nursery Rhymes

External links

• Hilary's website: http://www.hilaryrobinson.co.uk
• Hilary's profile on the Children's University website: http://www.childrensuniversity.co.uk/about-us/about-us---CU-Patrons3/