Whether you are looking for fantasy adventures for the 8-12s or compelling teenage fiction, award-winning Nigel Hinton is your man.

Visit Nigel Hinton's website.

THE BASICS
Born: London, September 28th 1941
Jobs: Advertising Account Executive, Swimming Pool Attendant, Teacher, Actor
Lives: East Sussex
First Book for Young People: Collision Course, 1974

THE BOOKS
Reading, cinema and rock music were of considerably more interest to the teenage Nigel Hinton than his schoolwork. Nigel has combined those passions and achieved success writing popular, prize-winning fiction both for the 8-12 year-old age range and for teenagers.

Nigel's first novel, Collision Course, was written during his nine year career as a teacher and began as a story to tell in class. Although he no longer teaches, Nigel frequently visits schools to talk a...

Whether you are looking for fantasy adventures for the 8-12s or compelling teenage fiction, award-winning Nigel Hinton is your man.

Visit Nigel Hinton's website.

THE BASICS
Born: London, September 28th 1941
Jobs: Advertising Account Executive, Swimming Pool Attendant, Teacher, Actor
Lives: East Sussex
First Book for Young People: Collision Course, 1974

THE BOOKS
Reading, cinema and rock music were of considerably more interest to the teenage Nigel Hinton than his schoolwork. Nigel has combined those passions and achieved success writing popular, prize-winning fiction both for the 8-12 year-old age range and for teenagers.

Nigel's first novel, Collision Course, was written during his nine year career as a teacher and began as a story to tell in class. Although he no longer teaches, Nigel frequently visits schools to talk about his books and test out reactions to new material.

One of the trademarks of Nigel’s writing is a distinctive brand of fantasy. In the Beaver Towers series of adventures, Philip and his friend Baby B must combat the wicked witch Oyin. In The Finders, Rosie agrees to post a parcel for a stranger, only to find herself spellbound by its contents. Out of the Darkness, for older readers, is the story of two young people born on the same day but thousands of miles apart. Liam and Leila may be leading very different lives, but their destinies are inextricably bound.

In the best-selling Buddy trilogy, Nigel follows the fortunes of a teenage boy with an ambition to be a rock star. Buddy was adapted for BBC Schools TV. When the sequel, Buddy's Song, was made into a film, Nigel wrote not only the screenplay but nine of the songs included on the soundtrack (remember The One and Only sung by Chesney Hawkes?).

WHAT HE SAYS...
"I wrote my first book when I was thirty-three. I thought that I was just writing a story to read to a class I was teaching but instead of being about ten pages long as I had expected, it turned out to be hundreds of pages long."

"On the whole I disliked school and always felt out of place there. I was much more interested in reading and going to the cinema as often as I could - I once managed to see seven different films in one week."

"My first concern as a writer is to make sure that readers want to keep reading to the end of the book."

"As I write I 'see' each scene of the story like a film inside my head. Most of the time the characters are doing what I tell them to but they often also do things that I hadn't expected, or I 'see' something that makes me change what I'd originally started to do."

"The central characters in my books (for teenagers)... tend to be people who, like me, are trying to understand themselves. They are people who look at the conflicting emotions and random thoughts that race across their brains and who wonder what the real 'I' is in the middle of all that."

WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT NIGEL HINTON...
"Hinton is clever at mixing spookiness with gentle satire." Independent on Sunday

"Compassionately written, genuinely moving... highly recommended." School Librarian on Buddy

"A tough, penetrating, and finally optimistic book." British Book News on Buddy

"A fast moving and absorbing story of breaking free and staying loyal." TES on Buddy's Song

"A marvellously original story, both spooky and comical." Northern Echo on The Finders

"(The Finders is) a spooky, engrossing spine chiller." 100 Best Books 1995 (Young Book Trust)

"The plot is pacey and unpredictable... I really could not put it down." The Bookseller on Out of the Darkness

"In Out of the Darkness, Nigel Hinton has written a fast-moving, nail-biting, romantic adventure." TES

“A moving and thought-provoking tale.” Federation of Children’s Book Groups’ Pick of the Year on Out of the Darkness

“A gripping read with a strong plot… very exciting with moments of real suspense and fear.” School Librarian on Out of the Darkness

AWARDS
Silver Pen Award (Holland) for Collision Course
Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Buddy
The Children's Book Award (Shorter Novels category) 1994 for The Finders
The Lancashire Children's Book of the Year 1999 for Out of the Darkness

DATE OF BIRTH:
28 September 1941

FAVOURITE BOOK:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

MOST TREASURED POSSESSION:
My record and tape collection

FAVOURITE SONG:
'Mr Tambourine Man' by Bob Dylan

FAVOURITE FILM:
The 400 Blows

When did you start writing?
I wrote my first book when I was thirty-three. I thought I was just writing a story to read to a class I was teaching but instead of being about ten pages long as I had expected, it turned out to be hundreds of pages long. I read it to my class and they encouraged me to try to get it published.

Where do you get your ideas?
I don't really know. I don't get them from obvious places like newspapers or TV or something I see happen on the street. An idea might swim into my head. For example, if you had a big enough kite could you be lifted up by it? Once I have that idea I can make other ideas...

DATE OF BIRTH:
28 September 1941

FAVOURITE BOOK:
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

MOST TREASURED POSSESSION:
My record and tape collection

FAVOURITE SONG:
'Mr Tambourine Man' by Bob Dylan

FAVOURITE FILM:
The 400 Blows

When did you start writing?
I wrote my first book when I was thirty-three. I thought I was just writing a story to read to a class I was teaching but instead of being about ten pages long as I had expected, it turned out to be hundreds of pages long. I read it to my class and they encouraged me to try to get it published.

Where do you get your ideas?
I don't really know. I don't get them from obvious places like newspapers or TV or something I see happen on the street. An idea might swim into my head. For example, if you had a big enough kite could you be lifted up by it? Once I have that idea I can make other ideas come by asking questions if a boy gets carried away on a kite, where does he go? I might come up with the answer: he goes to an island. I then ask, Who is on the island? Bit by bit I build up a story with the answers to my questions.

Can you give your top three tips to becoming a successful author?
1. Read and read and read and read and read - you pick up how books are written by reading books and seeing how other people write.
2. You must try to see what you are writing about - a bit like dreaming.
3. You must try to feel what it is you're writing about and what you want your readers to be feeling.

Favourite memory?
Sitting on a cross-channel ferry. The sun was shining and the boat was bumping and juddering across the waves sending spray up into the air. I was fifteen and was going to France on holiday with my best friend. It was my first holiday without my parents and the feeling of excitement and freedom was tremendous.

Favourite place in the world and why?
Cassis in France. It has a beautiful little harbour and I love sitting at one of the waterside restaurants eating and drinking while watching the boats gently rocking on the Mediterranean.

What are your hobbies?
Swimming, listening to music, playing guitar, reading, cinema, walking, cycling, bird-watching.

If you hadn't been a writer, what do you think you would have been?
I might have stayed in teaching, or I might have been an actor. E-mail Nigel Hinton at hintonn@twins.co.uk.