Rosemary Hayes (born 10 December 1942) is a British author who has written around 50 books for children aimed at ages from seven years to teenagers. She has edited many more. She worked for Cambridge University Press and then set up her own publishing house, Anglia Young Books.
Early life and education
Hayes was born and brought up in rural
Berkshire. She read avidly as a child and was particularly influenced by the books of
Elizabeth Goudge
Elizabeth de Beauchamp Goudge FRSL (24 April 1900 – 1 April 1984) was an English writer of fiction and children's books. She won the Carnegie Medal for British children's books in 1946 for ''The Little White Horse''. Goudge was long a popular ...
and the
Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...
by
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
.
Hayes attended
Brightwalton
Brightwalton is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs centred NNW of Newbury in West Berkshire.
Parish church
The Church of England parish church of All Saints existed by the time of the Domesday Book of 1086. The building was de ...
Primary School from 1947-50 then St Gabriel’s, Sandleford Priory in
Newbury. In 1970, she enrolled in a Creative Writing Course at
Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...
,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia.
Career
Hayes came to writing from a background in advertising, marketing and publishing. She worked intermittently for
Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer.
Cambridge University Pre ...
from 1986-2001 and one of her jobs was to run a national children’s writing competition, The Cambridge Young Writers’ Award, which attracted thousands of entries. In 1989, she launched her own publishing company, Anglia Young Books, producing curriculum-related historical fiction for primary schools. She sold the company to Mill Publishing in 2000 but continued to commission books for the new owners for several years.
She has written more than 45 books for children and is working on more. Her first novel, ‘Race Against Time’ (set in Australia) was runner up for the
Kathleen Fidler Award in 1988. Many of Hayes’ other books have been shortlisted for awards. Details are on her author website. Hayes teaches Creative Writing at an adult learning centre in
Letchworth
Letchworth Garden City, commonly known as Letchworth, is a town in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It is noted for being the first garden city. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 33,249.
Letchworth ...
and runs creative writing workshops in various schools in England.
Hayes is an active member of Walden Writers and within this she set up a critique group with other published authors including Penny Speller,
Amy Corzine,
Victor Watson author and
Jane Wilson-Howarth
Jane Wilson-Howarth CF, BSc (hons), MSc (Oxon), BM, DCH, DCCH, DFSRH, FRSTM&H, FFTM RCPS (Glasg) (born 1954) is a British physician, lecturer and author. She has written three travel health guides, two travel narratives, a novel and a series o ...
. She is also a member of the Society of Authors East Anglian Writers and The Scattered Authors’ Society
She has lived and worked in France, USA and Australia and has traveled widely in Europe, the Middle and Far East. Her researches for ''Forgotten Footprints'' and ''The Blue-eyed Aborigine'' took her to the Netherlands and the Shipwreck Museum in Freemantle.
Booklaunch
/ref> Hayes has frequently been interviewed on local radio (BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Radio Essex, BBC Radio Suffolk) and in the press (Cambridge News and Eastern Daily Press).
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References
External links
Rosemary Hayes author website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Rosemary
Living people
1942 births
British women writers
People from Newbury, Berkshire
People from Brightwalton
English children's writers