Robert Swindells

Robert E. "Bob" Swindells (born 20 March, 1939) is an author of children's and young adult literature.

[Born in Bradford, the first of five children, Swindells worked for a local newspaper after leaving school aged 15. He served with the Royal Air Force and held various jobs before training as a teacher. His first novel, "When Darkness Comes" (1973), was written while he was still in training. Swindells combined writing with teaching until 1980 when he took up writing full-time.

He first won the Children's Book Award with "Brother in the Land" (1984), a novel set in a post-apocalyptic world. Swindells was a supporter of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and is quoted as saying that the work "... came out of my own anger and frustration ... you can’t kill selectively with nuclear weapons, you wipe out millions of people ...". Swindells also won the award for "Room 13" (1990), "Nightmare Stairs" (Short novel, 1998) and "Blitzed" (Younger readers, 2003). His young adult novel "Stone Cold" (1993), which dealt with homelessness, won the Carnegie Medal in 1993.

Swindells is married and has two daughters and three grandchildren.] ="'

Bibliography

* "When Darkness Comes" (1973)
* "A Candle in the Night" (1974)
* "Voyage to Valhalla" (1976)
* "The Ice Palace" (1977)
* "The Weather Clerk" (1979)
* "Ghost Ship to Ganymede" (1980)
* "World-Eater" (1983)
* "Brother in the Land" (1984)
* "The Thousand Eyes of Night" (1985)
* "Daz 4 Zoe" (1990)
* "Stone Cold" (1993)
* "Timesnatch" (1994)
* "Unbeliever" (1995)
* "Jacqueline Hyde" (1996)
* "The Last Bus" (1996)
* "Nightmare Stairs" (1997)
* "Smash!" (1997)
* "Hurricane Summer" (1997)
* "Abomination" (1998)
* "Dosh" (1999)
* "Invisible!" (2000)
* "Doodlebug Alley" (2000)
* "A Wish for Wings" (2001)
* "Wrecked" (2001)
* "Blitzed" (2002)
* "No Angels" (2003)
* "Ruby Tanya" (2004)
* "Roger's War" (2004)
* "Branded" (2005)
* "Snapshot" (2005)
* "Snakebite" (2006)
* "In the Nick of Time" (2007)
* "Burnout" (2007)
* "The Shade of Hettie Daynes" (2008)
* "The Tunnel"54 books in total

Awards and nominations

* 1985 Brother in the Land won the Red House Children's Book Award [http://www.redhousechildrensbookaward.co.uk/ Red House Children's Book Award] ]
* 1990 Room 13 won the Red House Children's Book Award
* 1993 Stone Cold won the Carnegie Medal [ [http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/ The CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards] ]
* 1998 Nightmare Stairs won the Red House Children's Book Award For A Short Novel
* 1998 Unbeliever won the Angus Book Award [ [http://www.angus.gov.uk/bookaward/default.htm Angus Book Award] ]
* 2003 Blitzed won the Red House Children's Book Award For Younger Readers
* 2006 Branded longlisted for the Manchester Book Award [ [http://www.manchesterbookaward.com/ Manchester Book Award] ]
* 2006 Ruby Tanya shortlisted for the Hampshire Book Award [ [http://www3.hants.gov.uk/sls/sls-readerpromotion/hampshire-book-award.htm Hampshire Book Award] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.penguin.co.uk/nf/Author/AuthorPage/0,,1000050055,00.html Biography] and Quotations at Penguin Books website.
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/bigtoe/books/authors/swindells.shtml Biography] at BBC7's [http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/bigtoe/ Big Toe Radio Show]
* Biography, Interviews and Reviews at Channel 4's [http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/B/bookbox/ Bookbox]
* [http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/s/robert-swindells/ Robert Swindells at Fantastic Fiction]