Francesca Isabella Simon (born 23 February, 1955) is an American-born British author who resides in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

. She is most famous for writing the ''

Horrid Henry ''Horrid Henry'' is a children's book series by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Tony Ross. It has been adapted for television, film and theatre. Horrid Henry is set in the United Kingdom in 1994. Books The first ''Horrid Henry'' book was ...

'' series of

children's books A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younge ...

. She is the daughter of screenwriter and playwright Mayo Simon (not to be confused with

Simon Mayo Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo (born 21 September 1958) is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022. Mayo has presented across three BBC stations for extended periods. From 1986 to 2001 he worked for Radio ...

, a British radio DJ).

Biography

Simon was born in St. Louis,

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, U.S. She grew up in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and studied at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and Jesus College,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

, where she majored in

medieval studies Medieval studies is the academic interdisciplinary study of the Middle Ages. Institutional development The term 'medieval studies' began to be adopted by academics in the opening decades of the twentieth century, initially in the titles of books ...

and Old English. Simon worked as a journalist, writing for the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

'', ''Guardian'', ''

Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first publ ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and '' Vogue'' (US). Simon was inspired to write by

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ...

. 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; she has published over 50 different books, including her most popular series ''Horrid Henry'' series, which has sold over 25 million copies, and has been translated into 24 languages. Simon lives in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with her husband, Martin, and her son. Their Tibetan spaniel, Shanti, is memorialized in the short story "Shanti" that Simon wrote for inclusion in the ''

Paws and Whiskers ''Paws and Whiskers'' is a 2014 fundraising anthology for the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, featuring some of the best children's stories about cats and dogs of all time, selected by multi-award-winning and best-selling children's author Jacquel ...

'' anthology by fellow author

Jacqueline Wilson Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature. Her novels have been notable for featuring realistic topics such as adoption and divorce without alienating her lar ...

published in February 2014. In the spring of 2019 the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

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.

Selected works

* ''

'' series, illustrated by

Tony Ross Anthony Lee Ross (born 10 August 1938) is a British author and illustrator of children's picture books. In Britain, he is best known for writing and illustrating his Little Princess books and for illustrating the Horrid Henry series by Franc ...

Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly, ...

, 1994 to 2015 * * * – longlisted for the Guardian Prize, 2014 * *

Awards

In 2008, Simon won the

British Book Award The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by ''The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the National ...

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

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Francesca 1955 births Living people Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford American children's writers American emigrants to England Writers from St. Louis Yale University alumni