Francesca Simon

Francesca Isabella Simon (born February 23, 1955) is an American author who resides in North London. She is most famous for writing the Horrid Henry series of children's books.

Francesca Simon
BornFebruary 23, 1955 (1955-02-23) (age 65)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
OccupationWriter
GenreChildren's literature
Notable worksHorrid Henry
ChildrenJoshua (b. 1989)
Website
francescasimon.com

She is the daughter of screenwriter and playwright Mayo Simon[1] (not to be confused with Simon Mayo, a British radio DJ).

Biography

Simon was born in St Louis, Missouri, U.S. she grew up in California and studied at Yale and Jesus College, Oxford, where she majored in medieval studies and Old English. Simon worked as a journalist, writing for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph and Vogue (US).[2]

Simon's favourite writer is Anthony Trollope.[3] After she gave birth to her son, Joshua, in 1989, she began to write children's books full-time. Simon is one of the UK's best-selling children's writers;[4] she has published over 50 different books, including the immensely popular Horrid Henry series, which has sold over 25 million copies, and has been translated into 24 languages including Welsh and Faroese.[5][6]

Simon lives in London with her husband, Martin, and her son. Their Tibetan spaniel, Shanti, is memorialised in the short story "Shanti" that Simon wrote for inclusion in the Paws and Whiskers anthology by fellow author Jacqueline Wilson published in February 2014.[7]

In the spring of 2019 the Royal Opera House staged an opera based on Simon's book The Monstrous Child, about the Norse god of the dead, Hel, as an angry teenager. The opera is composed by Gavin Higgins with libretto by Simon.[8]

Selected works
  • Horrid Henry series, illustrated by Tony Ross, Orion Books, 1994 to 2015
  • Simon, Francesca (1996). The Topsy Turvies. Illustrated by Karen Ludlow (1st ed.). Dial Press. ISBN 978-0803719699.
  • Simon, Francesca (2012). The Topsy-Turvies (Early Reader). Illustrated by Emily Bolam. Orion Children's. ISBN 978-1444005127.
  • Simon, Francesca (2014). The Lost Gods. Profile Books. ISBN 978-1846685668. – longlisted for the Guardian Prize, 2014
  • Simon, Francesca (2017). The Monstrous Child (Paperback ed.). Faber & Faber Children's. ISBN 978-0571330270.
  • Simon, Francesca (2017). Hack and Whack. Illustrated by Charlotte Cotterill. Faber & Faber Children's. ISBN 978-0571328710.

Awards

In 2008, Simon won the British Book Award for The Children's Book of the Year with Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman. She is the first American to win this award.

References
  1. McCrum, Robert (13 September 2013). "Francesca Simon: 'When I started out, people would ask: "When will you write for adults?"'". theguardian.com. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  2. "Francesca Simon — People — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  3. "20 Years of Horrid Henry". thebookseller.com. 10 June 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2017.
  4. McCrum, Robert (13 September 2013). "Francesca Simon: 'When I started out, people would ask: "When will you write for adults?"'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  5. "The Inventory: Francesca Simon". www.ft.com. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  6. "Exclusive chat with Horrid Henry's 'mum' Francesca Simon on her inspiration behind the naughtiest boy in literature". London Mums Magazine. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  7. Francesca Simon (13 February 2014). "Supporting Battersea Cats and Dogs Home". www.francescasimon.com. Retrieved 10 June 2014. Published today is Paws and Whiskers a special anthology of the very best stories about cats and dogs from the world of children’s literature, chosen by my fellow author, and Battersea Cats and Dogs Home patron Jacqueline Wilson. This book is very special to me because it includes a piece about Shanti, my wonderful Tibetan spaniel, who very sadly died last autumn. That's Shanti on the cover, in the bottom right hand corner!
  8. "The Monstrous Child — Productions — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
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