Hilary Robinson (author)

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:

• 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.[6]
• Behind Enemy Lines (2009) [7] presented by John McCarthy - an examination of the effect of captivity on survivors.
• Turn Your Radio On (2008) [8] presented by Don Maclean – the wit and wisdom of Ray Stevens.[9]
• In His Hands (2007) presented by Candi Staton - a powerful documentary about music borne out of domestic abuse.[10]
• Lenny Bruce Is Dead (2006) [11] 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,[12] and Private Peaceful to mark Remembrance 2007 with Robson Green.[13]

• Barry's Forgotten Musical Memories with Barry Humphries (Exec Producer) – January 2016 [14]
• The Sheila Tracy Tapes (Exec Producer) July 2016 [15]

Hilary Robinson

The author of over 60 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.

In Autumn 2002, 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.[17]

The Spanish edition of The Princess's Secret Letters [18] 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,[19][20] deals with bereavement, the second, Christmas Surprise,[21] celebrates relationships with the elderly and the third, Help A Hamster,[22] 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.[23]

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).

In June 2017 'Mixed Up Fairy Tales' was voted as the top book of 2004 by 384,000 children. They were taking part in the National Literacy Trust’s Young Reader’s Programme to choose their favourite books from the last twenty years.

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.[24]

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.[25]

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

Robinson has appeared at the Harrogate International Festival,[29] the Edinburgh Children's Book Festival, the North of England Children's Book Festival, the Swansea Book Festival, the Manx Literary Festival[30] the Sunday Times Educational Festival[31] and the Sheffield Book Festival.

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[32]

• The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals 2015 – Nominations
• The Hampshire School's Library Award 2014 - shortlisted
• The Education Resources Award 2015 - finalist
• English Association Book Award 2015 – shortlist
• Rubery Book Award 2015 – shortlisted
• Coventry Libraries Book Award 2016 – shortlisted

• The Education Resources Award 2015 – finalist
• Sheffield Children's Book Award 2015 – finalist
• The People's Book Prize 2016 – finalist

• WINNER – Historical Association – Young Quillss Award 2016
• WINNER - North Somerset Teacher's Book Award Poetry section 2016
• WINNER - EOCT/SLS Picture Book Award 2017

• WINNER - North Somerset Teacher's Book Award Quality Fiction 2017
• Historical Association's Young Quills Award 2018 - shortlist
• WINNER - Holyer an Gof 2018 - Books for children of Primary Age
• WINNER - Holyer an Gof 2018, The Gorsedh Kernow Ann Trevenen Jenkin Cup - Awarded for authorship in the class for children and young adults

In 2017 [33] published a list of 20 books that celebrated the most popular books of the last two decades. The books were chosen by children who took part in the Young Reader's Programme. Mixed Up Fairy Tales was voted as the top book of 2004 by 384,000 children.