Hilary McKay

Hilary McKay (born 12 June 1959) is a British writer of children's books. For her first novel, The Exiles, she won the 1992 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.
Biography
McKay was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, the eldest of four daughters. She studied English, Zoology and Botany at St Andrews University before becoming a public protection scientist. She currently resides in Derbyshire with her husband, Kevin.
McKay says of herself as a child "I anaesthetised myself against the big bad world with large doses of literature. The local library was as familiar to me as my own home."
The Casson Family books
The Casson Family series comprises the Whitbread Award-winning Saffy's Angel (2001) and four sequels: Indigo's Star (2004), Permanent Rose (2005), which was shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread awards, Caddy Ever After (2006), Forever Rose (2007), and prequel Caddy's World (2011). The series focuses on an English family of artists, the Cassons. The first three books are written in the third person but focus on the point of view of the character in the title, whilst Caddy Ever After is written in the first person and is narrated by each of the children in turn, and Forever Rose is written in the first person.
The Porridge Hall books
The Porridge Hall series (1994-1998) features Robin Brogan and his mother, who live in Porridge Hall on the Yorkshire coast. Once Porridge Hall was Mrs Brogan's family home, now it has been split into two houses, and she and Robin live in one half, from which Mrs Brogan also runs a bed and breakfast. The Robinson family live in the other half, and the two families are firm friends.
The books have been published as audiobooks, with the first two read by Nigel Lambert, The Amber Cat also by Ron Keith, and Dolphin Luck by Judy Bennett. Dog Friday has been adapted into a German film, Ein Hund namens Freitag. Besides German, the trilogy has been translated into Dutch and Estonian as well, and Dog Friday has also been translated into Czech, Danish, Greek, Polish, Spanish, and Thai, and The Amber Cat into French.
Awards
The Exiles won the 1992 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
The Exiles At Home won the 1994 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in ages category 9–11 years and overall
Saffy's Angel won the 2002 Whitbread Children's Book Award
Permanent Rose was shortlisted for the 2005 Whitbread Award
The Skylarks' War (2018) won the 2019 Costa Children's Book Award
Selected works
The Time of Green Magic
The Skylarks' War
Straw into Gold: Hilary McKay's Fairy Tales
Binny
Binny for Short
Binny in Secret
Binny Bewitched
Casson Family
Saffy's Angel
Indigo's Star
Permanent Rose
Caddy Ever After
Forever Rose
Caddy's World (takes place before Saffy's Angel)
Exiles
The Exiles
The Exiles At Home
The Exiles In Love
Paradise House
The Treasure in the Garden
The Echo in the Chimney
The Zoo in the Attic
The Magic in the Mirror
The Surprise Party
Keeping Cottontail
Porridge Hall
Dog Friday
The Amber Cat
Dolphin Luck
Pudding Bag School
A Birthday Wish
Cold Enough for Snow
A Strong Smell of Magic
For younger readers
The Story of Bear
Happy and Glorious
Practically Perfect
Charlie and the Great Escape
References
Citations
Hilary McKay wins top kids' books prize, BBC, 8 January 2003.
CBBC Newsround chats to Hilary McKay, BBC, 8 January 2003.
External links
Hilary McKay at Library of Congress Authorities — with 26 catalogue records
English children's writers
Guardian Children's Fiction Prize winners
Living people
Alumni of the University of St Andrews
1959 births
People from Boston, Lincolnshire