Kathleen ("Kaye") Webb (26 January 1914 – 16 January 1996), was a British editor and publisher. She was a recipient of the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annually in memory of the ce ...

Early life and education

Kathleen Webb was born in

Chiswick, London Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Ful ...

, in 1914, the second of three children of Arthur Webb, a journalist, and Ann (née Stevens), a film and theatre critic.Trotman 2015Grove 2010. Her paternal great-great-grandfather was W. G. (William George) Webb, publisher of toy theatres in the Victorian era. Webb was educated first at a dame school, then at

Hornsey Hornsey is a district of north London, England in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood and Alexandra Park to the ...

High School, and then, in 1926, aged twelve, started boarding at Ashburton School,

Ashburton, Devon Ashburton is a town on the south-southeastern edge of Dartmoor in Devon, England, adjacent to the A38. The town is 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Plymouth and 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Exeter. It was formerly important as a stan ...

, where her older brother was already a student. Webb herself described her time there as "bullied, miserable, had jaundice", but was inspired and encouraged by the teacher of English, Ben R. Gibbs, author of textbooks about literature and history. She left the school in 1930, and although Gibbs had suggested that she go on to university, she was sent by her parents to stay with a family in

Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, Belgium, to be "

finished Finished may refer to: * ''Finished'' (novel), a 1917 novel by H. Rider Haggard * ''Finished'' (film), a 1923 British silent romance film * "Finished" (short story), a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp See also *Finishing (disa ...

Career

Webb's first job after she left school, aged 16, was as an office girl at '' The Times''.Grove 2010, pp. 26–27. In 1931, after her time in Belgium, she was employed as editor's secretary at ''

Picturegoer ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

'', where she was "George the Answerman". At some point, she also worked for ''

Mickey Mouse Weekly ''Mickey Mouse Weekly'' was a 1936–1957 weekly British tabloid Disney comics magazine, the first British comic with full colour photogravure printing. It was launched by Willbank Publications and later continued by Odhams Press. The comics w ...

'', where she was paid 2d per answer to reply to children's letters. She later worked for motor magazines ''Caravan World'' and ''Sports Car''. She joined '' Picture Post'' as a secretary in 1938; and in 1941 became assistant editor of the magazine '' Lilliput''. She remained at ''Lilliput'' until her marriage in 1948, after which she began working freelance, writing features for the '' News Chronicle'' and broadcasting on '' Woman's Hour'', among other commissions. In 1955 she was invited by John Grigg, the owner, to edit the children's literary magazine ''

The Young Elizabethan ''The Young Elizabethan'' was a British children's literary magazine of the 20th century. History and profile The magazine was founded in 1948 as ''Collins Magazine for Boys & Girls''. It was first published in Canada due to limitations of paper ...

'' (afterwards retitled ''The Elizabethan''). In 1961, she became editor of

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

, remaining until 1979. In 1967 she founded the Puffin Club, which she ran until 1981 (also editing its magazine, ''

Puffin Post Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

'').Julia Eccleshar
Obituary: Kaye Webb
'' The Independent'', 18 January 1996.

Personal life

Joan Aiken, Kaye Webb and Stuart Ray, 1972

Webb was married three times: each of her marriages ended in divorce. Her third marriage (1948–1967) was to Ronald Searle, who was the father of her son and daughter. She was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.

Notes

Sources

* (Biography) *

External links

*Helen Brown
Kaye Webb's Puffin Adventure
''

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

'', 30 April 2010.
Kathleen (Kaye) Webb