Barbara Ker Wilson (24 September 1929 – 10 September 2020) was an English-born Australian novelist. She is credited as the person who "discovered"

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear (though his name is just Paddington; the "Bear" simply serves to confirm his species; and also known as Paddington Brown for some sources) is a fictional character in British children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October ...

. She wrote over twenty books and collated collections of stories. She gained awards for helping other writers.

Life

Wilson was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

in 1929. Her parents were Margaret (born Rogers) and William Ker Wilson. Her father was an aeronautical engineer who wrote on that subject. After she attended the

North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is a private day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju Island, Dubai, Vietnam ...

in 1938, she entered publishing in 1949 at

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

where she became an assistant editor. She went on to work for

Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

and in 1957 she moved to Collins where she discovered a draft by

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was an English author. He is best known for a series of children's books featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, ...

. He had created a book for children featuring the talking bear from Peru named

. After reading the draft at one sitting she phoned the author at the number given. She was put through to Lime Green Studios and Michael Bond who told her that as a TV cameraman he was not supposed to take calls at work. In 1954, she created the anthology ''Scottish Folk-Tales and Legends''. The first of the twenty novels she wrote was ''Path-Through-the-Woods'' which was published in 1958. and thereafter she wrote almost 20 novels for children, including the acclaimed ''Last Year’s Broken Toys'' (1962), which gave a child’s-eye view of growing up during the second world war. She also wrote two novels for adults, ''Jane Austen in Australia'' (1984) and ''The Quade Inheritance'' (1988). In 1956, she married Peter Tahourdin, a composer. She and her husband moved to Adelaide in 1964 after the 1963 winter to find a better climate. Her husband obtained a job as a composer in Residence at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. The couple had divorced by 1978. She later moved to Sydney where she returned to publishing, working for

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

. Her career in publishing continued at

Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.H ...

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

(managing editor of condensed books) and, finally, at

University of Queensland Press University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in 1948 as a traditional university press, UQP now publishes books for general readers across fiction, non-fiction, poetry, children's ...

. In 2008, she published ''The Lost Years of Jane Austen'' which imagines Austen visiting an Australian prison colony. Ker Wilson died in

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. It is south-west of Sydney and north-east of Canberra. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and the Southern Highl ...

, New South Wales on 10 September 2020, survived by her daughters and two grandchildren.

Awards and honors

For her work in children's literature, she received the Pixie O'Harris Award in 1997. In 1999, she won the Dromkeen Medal given to the person who has greatly assisted children's literature in Australia. Five years later she was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

noting the support she had given to emerging writers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Barbara Ker 1929 births 2020 deaths English women novelists Australian women novelists Writers from Sunderland Writers from Sydney Members of the Order of Australia English emigrants to Australia People educated at North London Collegiate School 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian women writers English book editors Australian book editors Australian women editors British women editors 21st-century English women 21st-century English writers