Barbara Nichol (born c. 1956) is a Canadian writer. She was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, the daughter of John Lang Nichol and Elizabeth Fellowes, founder of the Equinox Gallery, and was educated at Westcot Elementary School and

Crofton House School Crofton House School, located in the neighbourhood of Kerrisdale in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a private university-preparatory school for girls that is tied for first place in the Fraser Institute's rankings of schools in British Co ...

in Vancouver, at Elmwood School in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

The Branson School The Branson School (also known as Branson, Branson School, or KBS) is a co-educational college-preparatory high school for students in grades 9–12. The school has 320 students, and is located in Ross, California, north of San Francisco. Histo ...

Ross, California Ross is a small List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, just north of San Francisco. Ross is located west-southwest of San Rafael, California, San Rafael, at ...

and St Clare's, Oxford. She attended the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

but did not graduate from either. She has written and produced over 25 radio documentaries for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

and has written comedy and humour for radio, magazines and television. Nichol wrote scripts for the Canadian version of

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Workshop until June 2000) a ...

from 1985 to 1994 and worked as a script editor on the international edition of the show. In 1996, she won a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

and a Golden Spire Award for Best Short Film under 15 minutes for '' The Home for Blind Women''. She was a founding editor of the Canadian magazine ''

The Walrus ''The Walrus'' is an independent, non-profit Canadian media organization. It is multi-platform and produces an 8-issue-per-year magazine and online editorial content that includes current affairs, fiction, poetry, and podcasts, a national s ...

''. Barbara wrote the book and lyrics (music by Tom Bellman) for the Canadian musical "The Sparrow Songs: A Country Song String" which was featured at The Summerworks Festival in August 2011, ran at Hugh's Room in Toronto and the Festival of Ideas and Creation at Canadian Stage in 2012. She has received a Canadian Juno award, for her original, multi platinum recording of ''

Beethoven Lives Upstairs ''Beethoven Lives Upstairs'' is a 1992 HBO Original Historical fiction Film produced and directed by David Devine. Based on a very popular children's audio recording written and directed by Barbara Nichol, the film stars Illya Woloshyn as Chr ...

'', a Canal + award for ''The Home For Blind Women'', has been a Governor General's Award finalist for her children's book ''Dippers'and won the Mr. Christie Prize for "Biscuits in The Cupboard", a book of verse'. She was nominated for a Juno Award as well for producing and directing the children's play series "A Story For A Child." The series was released as a recording by BMI. She received an Emmy nomination for her Sesame Street special "Basil Hears a Noise." Her sisters are Marjorie Nichol, a radio producer and journalist, most recently the executive producer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's "Sunday Edition", and Sarah Milroy, a prominent critic and writer on the visual arts, now the Head Curator of the McMichael Gallery.

Selected books

* ''

Beethoven lives upstairs ''Beethoven Lives Upstairs'' is a 1992 HBO Original Historical fiction Film produced and directed by David Devine. Based on a very popular children's audio recording written and directed by Barbara Nichol, the film stars Illya Woloshyn as Chr ...

'' (1989), Beethoven Lives Upstairs was later published as a book, written by Nichol. * ''Biscuits in the cupboard'' (1997) (Verse) illustrated by

Philippe Béha Philippe Béha (born 1950) is a French Canadian children's book writer and illustrator living in Quebec. He was born in Casablanca to french parents, studied at the and came to Quebec in 1976. He worked as a freelance visual designer for Radio ...

, received a Mr. Christie's Book Award. * ''

Dippers Dippers are members of the genus ''Cinclus'' in the bird family Cinclidae, so-called because of their bobbing or dipping movements. They are unique among passerines for their ability to dive and swim underwater. Taxonomy The genus ''Cinclus'' ...

'' (1997) illustrated by Barry Moser, appeared on the short list for the

Toronto Book Awards The Toronto Book Awards are Canadian literary awards, presented annually by the City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city ...

and was also nominated for a

Governor General's Literary Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

* ''One Small Garden'' * ''Trunks All Aboard: An Elephant ABC.'' * Safe and Sound (a book of verse.) * Tales Of Don Quixote (a retelling for Children) * Tales of Don Quixote. Book Two. * The Lady from Kent. (Verse, published in 2018)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichol, Barbara Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Canadian women children's writers Canadian women screenwriters Writers from Vancouver