Barbara Ker Wilson (24 September 1929 – 10 September 2020) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-born Australian novelist. She is credited as the person who "discovered"

Paddington Bear Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book ''A Bear Called Paddington'' and has been featured in more than twenty books written by British author Michael Bond, a ...

. She wrote over twenty books and collated collections of stories. She gained awards for helping other writers.

Life

Wilson was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

in 1929. Her parents were Margaret (born Rogers) and William Ker Wilson. Her father was an aeronautical engineer who wrote on that subject. After she attended the

North London Collegiate School North London Collegiate School (NLCS) is an independent school with a day school for girls in England. Founded in Camden Town, it is now located in Edgware, in the London Borough of Harrow. Associate schools are located in South Korea, Jeju I ...

in 1938, she entered publishing in 1949 at

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

where she became an assistant editor. She went on to work for

Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English publishing house, founded in 1887 and existing as an independent entity until the 1970s. The name was used as an imprint of Random House Children's Books from 1987 to 2008. In April 2008, it was revived as an adul ...

and in 1957 she moved to

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

where she discovered a draft by

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was a British author. He is best known for a series of fictional stories for children, featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million Paddington books have been sold ...

. He had created a book for children featuring the talking bear from Peru named

. After reading the draft at one sitting she phoned the author at the number given. She was put through to Lime Green Studios and Michael Bond who told her that as a TV cameraman he was not supposed to take calls at work. In 1954, she created the anthology ''Scottish Folk-Tales and Legends''. The first of the twenty novels she wrote was ''Path-Through-the-Woods'' which was published in 1958. and thereafter she wrote almost 20 novels for children, including the highly acclaimed Last Year’s Broken Toys (1962), which gave a child’s-eye view of growing up during the second world war. She also wrote two novels for adults, Jane Austen in Australia (1984) and The Quade Inheritance (1988). In 1956, she married Peter Tahourdin, a composer. She and her husband moved to Adelaide in 1964 after the 1963 winter to find a better climate. Her husband obtained a job as a composer in Residence at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

. The couple had divorced by 1978. She later moved to Sydney where she returned to publishing working for

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

. Her career in publishing continued at

Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher ...

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

(managing editor of condensed books) and, finally, at

University of Queensland Press Established in 1948, University of Queensland Press (UQP) is an Australian publishing house. Founded as a traditional university press, UQP has since branched into publishing books for general readers in the areas of fiction, non-fiction, poetr ...

. In 2008, she published "The Lost Years of Jane Austen" which describes a time in Austen's life which is not documented as her letters were destroyed. Wilson recreates Austen's story imagining a visit to an Australian prison colony and romance. Ker Wilson died in

Bowral Bowral () is the largest town in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, about ninety minutes southwest of Sydney. It is the main business and entertainment precinct of the Wingecarribee Shire and Highlands. Bowral once served ...

, New South Wales on 10 September 2020, survived by her daughters and two grandchildren.

Awards and honors

For her work in children's literature, she received the Pixie O'Harris Award in 1997. In 1999, she won the

Dromkeen Medal The Dromkeen Medal is a literary prize awarded annually by the Courtney Oldmeadow Children's Literature Foundation for those who have advanced children's literature in Australia. The Medal was established by bookseller, Joyce Oldmeadow in 1982, ...

given to the person who has greatly assisted children's literature in Australia. Five years later she was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

noting the support she had given to emerging writers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Barbara Ker 1929 births 2020 deaths English women novelists Australian women novelists People from Sunderland Writers from Sydney Members of the Order of Australia English emigrants to Australia People educated at North London Collegiate School Writers from Tyne and Wear 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English women writers 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century Australian women writers 21st-century Australian novelists 21st-century Australian women writers English book editors Australian book editors Australian women editors British women editors 21st-century English women 21st-century English people