Hilary Robinson (author)

Hilary Robinson
Hilary Robinson
Born (1962-01-23) 23 January 1962
Paignton, Devon, England
Occupation Radio producer, children's author, feature writer, script writer
Nationality British (Manx ancestry)
Notable works Mixed Up Fairy Tales; The Copper Tree
Website
www.hilaryrobinson.co.uk

Hilary Robinson (born 23 January 1962, Paignton, Devon, England) is an English children’s author, broadcaster,[1] radio producer and feature writer. She is a Patron of The Children's University.[2]

Background

The daughter of lecturers, Robinson grew up during the civil war in Zaria, Nigeria; Dorset and Yorkshire. Her father, P.H.Turner an economist [3] and a biographer of David Livingstone [4] 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.[5]

BBC radio documentaries include:

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,[12] and Private Peaceful to mark Remembrance 2007 with Robson Green.[13]

Children's author

Hilary Robinson

The author of over 50 books[16] 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,[17] 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.[18]

The Spanish edition of The Princess's Secret Letters [19] 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.

In April 2012 Hilary Robinson with illustrator Mandy Stanley launched The Copper Tree Class books a series of accessible picture books designed to help young children cope with challenging situations. The first, The Copper Tree,[20][21] deals with bereavement, the second, Christmas Surprise,[22] celebrates relationships with the elderly and the third, Help A Hamster,[23] focusses on adoption. Other subjects to be covered include, homelessness, travelling children and child caregivers.

A year after publication USA website efunerals.com listed The Copper Tree as one of the top ten books to help children cope with death and grief.[24]

In 2014 she launched the first of four books for young children to help them engage with the centenary of the First World War - Where The Poppies Now Grow (2014) The Christmas Truce (2015) Flo of the Somme (2016) and Peace Lily (2017).

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.[25]

In April 2013, Robinson was invited to the Czech Republic to work in schools and libraries, as part of the ten year celebration to mark the twinning of Leeds and Brno.[26]

She 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[27] collaborated with authors, illustrators and editors to oppose the war on Iraq[28] and supports author Alan Gibbons' campaign against cuts to the library service.[29]

Festival appearances

Robinson has appeared at the Harrogate International Festival,[30] the Edinburgh Children's Book Festival, the North of England Children's Book Festival, the Swansea Book Festival, the Manx Literary Festival[31] the Sunday Times Educational Festival[32] 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, Teach Primary, Family History Monthly and other specialist press. She is a regular blogger at The Huffington Post[33]

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."

Book awards

Where The Poppies Now Grow

The Christmas Truce

Flo Of The Somme

Personal

She is married and 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.

She is the cousin of Jonathan Luxton, solo horn with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, Lisbon.[34]

Books

References

  1. ↑ "Hilary Robinson". YouTube. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  2. ↑ "Children's University". Childrensuniversity.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  3. ↑ The Cambridge History of Africa - Google Books. Books.google.co.uk. 1998-12-01. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  4. ↑ "Livingstone: A Beginner's Guide by P.H. Turner".
  5. ↑ "Good Morning Sunday (28 February 2010)". BBC. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  6. ↑ "The Robeson Files". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  7. ↑ "Behind Enemy Lines (7 November 2009)". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  8. ↑ "Turn Your Radio On: Ray Stevens (8 January 2008)". BBC.
  9. ↑ "Turn Your Radio On: Ray Stevens (8 January 2008)". Radio Listings. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  10. ↑ "In His Hands (15 May 2007)". Radio Listings. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  11. ↑ Stephen Robb (3 August 2006). "The comedy master turned martyr". BBC News.
  12. ↑ "A review of the radio programme 'Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons'(Radio 4)". History.ac.uk. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  13. ↑ "Private Peaceful (28 November 2008)". BBC Radio 2.
  14. ↑ "Barry's Forgotten Musical Memories". Strausshouse Productions. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "The Sheila Tracy Tapes". BBC Radio 2. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  16. ↑ "Hilary Robinson: Books, Biogs, Audiobooks, Discussions". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  17. ↑ "Mixed Up Fairy Tales: Amazon.co.uk: Hilary Robinson, Nick Sharratt: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  18. ↑ "Thousands of schoolchildren turn detective over London litter". Press Release. 3 March 2002.
  19. ↑ "Interview with Hilary Robinson". Little Tiger Press.
  20. ↑ "Children's Books - Reviews - The Copper Tree | BfK No. 193". Pop.booksforkeeps.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  21. ↑ "The Copper Tree: Helping a Child Cope with Death and Loss: Amazon.co.uk: Hilary Robinson, Mandy Stanley: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  22. ↑ "Christmas Surprise Copper Tree Class Celebrating The Lives Of The Elderly The Copper Tree: Amazon.co.uk: Hilary Robinson, Mandy Stanley: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  23. ↑ "Help A Hamster: A Gentle Introduction To Adoption: Amazon.co.uk: Hilary Robinson, Mandy Stanley: Books". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  24. ↑ Archived 19 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine.
  25. ↑ David Marsh (11 June 2003). "Durban books plea set to smash 200,000". Yorkshire Evening Post.
  26. ↑ "Visit to Czech Republic | Children's author Hilary Robinson, but also award winning radio producer, broadcaster and feature writer". Hilaryrobinson.co.uk. 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  27. ↑ "supporters P-S". No to Age Banding. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  28. ↑ "Oppose war on children". London: The Guardian. 2003-02-06.
  29. ↑ "Defend Libraries!". Alan Gibbons blog.
  30. ↑ "Harrogate International Festival". Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  31. ↑ "Manx Litfest". Manxlitfest.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  32. ↑
  33. ↑ Robinson, Hilary. "Hilary Robinson". Huffington Post.
  34. ↑ "Section Listings". Hornplayer.net. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  35. ↑ "Home | The Copper Tree | Hilary Robinson & Mandy Stanley". The Copper Tree. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
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