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Robert E. Swindells (born 20 March 1939) is an English author ofchildren's andyoung adult fiction.
For the young-adult novelStone Cold (Heinemann, 1993), which deals with homelessness, he won the annualCarnegie Medal from theCILIP, recognizing the year's outstanding children's book by aBritish subject.[1]
Born inBradford,Yorkshire, Swindells worked for a newspaper after leaving school aged 15.[2] He served with theRoyal Air Force and held various jobs before training as aPrimary school teacher. While in training he wrote his first novel,When Darkness Comes, which was published byBrockhampton Press ofStenhousemuir in 1973.[3] He combined writing with teaching until 1980 when he took up writing full-time. He was still writing as of his 71st birthday (20 March 2010).
He first won theRed House Children's Book Award withBrother in the Land (1984), a novel set in apost-apocalyptic world. Swindells was a supporter of theCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament and is quoted as saying that the work "... came out of my own anger and frustration ... you can't kill selectively with nuclear weapons, you wipe out millions of people ...". He won three more Red House awards forRoom 13 (1989),Nightmare Stairs (Short novel, 1998) andBlitzed (Younger readers, 2003).
In a 2010by-election and in the 2011local elections, Swindells stood as theGreen Party of England and Wales candidate for theWorth Valley ward ofBradford City Council. In 2010, he took 11% of the vote, putting him in third place.[4]
Swindells has won several annual book awards.
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