Barry Hines
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Barry Hines, FRSL (born 1939) is a British author who has written several popular novels and television scripts.
Born in the mining village of Hoyland Common near Barnsley, England, Barry Hines first worked in surveying and played football. He then took a teaching qualification in Loughborough and taught Physical Education for several years before becoming a full-time author.
He is best known for writing the script for Threads, a drama examining the effects of nuclear war on Sheffield. Other achievements in his history include the novel A Kestrel for a Knave (1968), which was later made into the film Kes by the director Ken Loach, for which Hines also adapted the script from the novel. The story is that of a troubled schoolboy living in a poor mining town in Yorkshire who finds comfort in looking after a kestrel hawk named 'Kes'. He also received a BAFTA for the script of Threads and has been made an Honorary Fellow of Sheffield Hallam University.
Books
- A Kestrel for a Knave (1968) (made into a film)
- The Blinder
- Looks and Smiles (made into a film)
- The Price of Coal (made into two episodes of Play for Today on BBC TV)
- The Gamekeeper (made into a film)
- The Heart of It
- Elvis over England