Julia Eccleshare MBE (born 1951) is a British journalist and writer on the subject of

children's books A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''chi ...

. She was Children's Books editor for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' newspaper for more than ten years, at least from 2000, until 2016. She is also an editorial contributor and advisor for the website Love Reading 4 Kids. She is a recipient of the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annually in memory of the c ...

. She was appointed children's director of the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival (), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was d ...

in 2016.

Life and career

Eccleshare was born in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England, and grew up in

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

, the third of four children of Colin Eccleshare, a publisher with

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, and Liz, a history teacher. Eccleshare was children's book editor of the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' from 1974 to 1978.http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/julia+eccleshare/children27s+books+of+the+year+1989/3722961/ "Children's Books of the Year 1989"] (bookseller display). ''waterstones.com''. Includes "Synopsis" that is partly about the author. She served as non-fiction and picture book editor at

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

children's imprint

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs to ...

from 1978 to 1980, and as fiction editor at

Hamish Hamilton Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...

children's books from 1980 to 1984, before returning to freelance book reviewing."1001 Children's Books To Read Before You Grow Up: Classic Stories For Kids (Paperback)"
(bookseller display for 2009 Cassell Illustrated edition). ''amazon.com''. Retrieved 28 January 2011. Includes "Product Description" that is "About the Author". She selected hundreds of books for ''Children's Books of the Year'' from 1985 to 1993."BfK News – July 1985"
. ''

Books for Keeps ''Books for Keeps'' is a British online magazine covering children's books. The annual exhibition and annotated list had been established c.1970 by the National Book League (later renamed Booktrust) and had missed one year before its 1985 resumption. Eccleshare has also served on many book award panels including the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 2001, and chaired the

Nestlé Smarties Book Prize The Nestlé Children's Book Prize, and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize for a time, was a set of annual awards for British children's books that ran from 1985 to 2007. It was administered by BookTrust, an independent charity that promotes books and r ...

panel from 2001 to its conclusion in 2007. In 2000 she co-founded the

Branford Boase Award The Branford Boase Award is a British literary award presented annually to an outstanding children's or young-adult novel by a first-time writer; "the most promising book for seven year-olds and upwards by a first time novelist." The award is s ...

for an outstanding novel for young people by a first-time writer, and continues to chair its panel of judges. From 2000 to 2012, she chaired the panel of three children's writers who judge the

Guardian Children's Fiction Prize The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award was a literary award that annually recognised one fiction book written for Children's literature, children or young adults (at least age eight) and published in the United Kingdom. It was conf ...

. In 2000, she won the

in recognition of "her outstanding contribution to children's books". Eccleshare was children's books editor for ''

'' newspaper for more than a decade, until 2016. She has also made regular appearances on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programmes '' Open Book'' and '' Front Row''. In 2014, she was appointed Head of Policy and Advocacy for Public Lending Right. She was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2014 Birthday Honours The 2014 Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens ...

for services to children's literature. She was an awarded an Honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt, Hons) by the

University of Worcester The University of Worcester is a public research university, based in Worcester, England. With a history dating back to 1946, the university began awarding degrees in 1997 and was granted full university status in 2005. History In 1946 an Emerg ...

in 2014. In 2016, Eccleshare was appointed director of the Children's Programme of the

. She has also judged and chaired the judging panels of many significant children's literature prizes, including the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 2001, and chairing the

panel from 2001 until it ended in 2007. She is married and has four children, and lives in London.

Books

Eccleshare covered the Harry Potter series for Continuum (Contemporary classics of children's literature) when four volumes were in print. Following an introduction on "major success in children's books",

Enid Blyton Enid Mary Blyton (11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer, whose books have been worldwide bestsellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Her books are still enormously popular and have been tra ...

and others, she interpreted the Potter stories (part 2) and the Potter phenomenon including its impact on writing for children (parts 3–5). Two

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the O ...

library records with different "Contents"
"Guide to the Harry Potter novels" (1)"Guide to the Harry Potter novels" (2)

Selected works

* ''Children's Books of the Year'', 1985; 1986; 1987; 1988; 1989; 1990; 1991; 1992; 1993 (London: National Book League/ Booktrust/Children's Book Foundation; in association with

Andersen Press Andersen Press is a British book publishing company. It was founded in 1976 by Klaus Flugge, and was named after Hans Christian Andersen "because it is easier to pronounce and spell than Flugge". Random House has a holding in the company and a ...

from 1988) —catalogues of the annual exhibition * ''Treasure Islands: The

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

Guide to Children's Reading'' (

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Consumer Publishing and BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidia ...

, 1988) * ''British Literature for Young People: A Bibliography 1990–2000'' (

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

, 2001) * ''A Guide to the

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

Novels'' ( Continuum, 2002, Contemporary Classics of Children's Literature series) * ''

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

to Harry Potter: Portraits of Children's Witers'' (

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: * National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra * National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London ...

, 2002) —catalogue of an exhibition * ''The Rough Guide to books for teenagers'' (London:

Rough Guides Rough Guides is a travel company that offers tailor-made trips planned and arranged by local travel experts based in destinations around the world. Originally established as a guidebook publisher in 1982, Rough Guides expanded into customized t ...

, 2002, ), by Eccleshare and Nicholas Tucker —"more than 200 books reviewed" * '' 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up'' ( Cassell, 2009, )

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eccleshare, Julia 1951 births Living people British literary critics British women literary critics British women journalists Children's literature criticism Members of the Order of the British Empire The Guardian journalists