Coward, Fiona 1963–

views updated

Coward, Fiona 1963–

Personal

Born September 23, 1963, in Bexley, Kent, England; daughter of David and Daphne Plum; married Paul Coward April 2, 1988; children: Erin Grace, Megan Elizabeth. Education: Attended Percival Whitley College, 1981-83; attended College of Ripon & York St. John, 1983-87. Religion: Christian.

Addresses

Home and office—York, England.

Career

Children's book author and educator. Primary school teacher of music and science in York, England, 1987-2006; currently works in adult education and library service.

Writings

FOR CHILDREN

Swing High, Swing Low: A Book of Opposites, illustrated by Giovanni Manna, Barefoot Books (Cambridge, MA), 2005.

Contributor to I Love My Mum, edited by Gaby Morgan, Macmillan (London, England), 2006.

Sidelights

British children's book author and poet Fiona Coward told SATA: "I began writing as a child, when I would sit in the garden with a wad of paper on a rickety table.

My first ‘publishing’ success was The Madjik Stik, which my dad had typed up and spiral bound into a proper book and circulated around the family.

"The writing tailed off a bit throughout my study years but resumed when I became a teacher. I started a creative writing course and wrote my first book. I read it to a class of children, then put it under the bed when I started my own family.

"Years later, as my children became more independent, I joined other writing courses. It was during one of these that the idea for Swing High, Swing Low: A Book of Opposites began. It started as a poem in my head as I rode my bike home from the class. The tutor liked it and recommended I send it to a publisher. Barefoot Books loved it too and published it in 2005 as a picture book.

"I have no particular message to give through my, mostly unpublished, writing. All I aim for is to enjoy it. I enjoy playing with words and trying to create moods and explore feelings. I read books for all age groups by many different authors. For me, reading takes me out of my world and lets me experience someone else's. I'd like my writing to do that too.

"Now, I'm almost back where I started. I've fished that book out from under the bed, blown the fluff off, and started to rewrite it. Great chunks have had to go and many more have been changed. Eventually, quite soon even, I hope to have a best draft which I'm calling Claxton's Attic. It's an adventure story for older children, set in the place I grew up. After that, I'll carry on playing with words until a new idea emerges—I never have to wait long."