{"id":2,"date":"2016-05-12T14:27:12","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T14:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/?page_id=2"},"modified":"2026-10-10T19:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T19:36:50","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/?page_id=2","title":{"rendered":"About Me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi there! Lovely that you’ve dropped by! <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I write novels for children: <\/span>Fir for Luck<\/a><\/em><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span> (2016), Punch<\/span><\/em><\/span><\/a> (2017), Wilderness Wars<\/em><\/a> (2018), Black Water<\/em><\/a> (2019), The Siege of Caerlaverock<\/em><\/a> (2020), The Chessmen Thief<\/em> <\/a>(2021), The Reluctant Rebel<\/em><\/a> (2022), Rivet Boy<\/em><\/a> (2023), \u00a0The Boy, the Witch and the Queen of Scots<\/em><\/a> (2024), I Don’t Do Mountains <\/em><\/a>(2025), To War with Wallace<\/em><\/a> (2025) and Enter Eddie Shakespeare<\/em><\/a> (2026). In addition, I have written three non-fiction books for adults called Scottish by Inclination<\/a><\/em> (2021), Made from Girders<\/a><\/em> (2023) and Goodbye Day Job <\/a><\/em>(2026). Alongside writing and visiting schools as an author or storyteller, I also work as a drama teacher in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First and foremost, my writing is aimed at children, but I also enjoy dabbling in short stories and drama.  I enjoy writing reviews of books, theatre, music and spoken word events. <\/span>In addition, I run a group for those interested in writing for children, am a founding member of the Time Tunnellers and KILTS (Kids’ Literature Scotland).<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love books (obviously), nature\u2019s wild places, history, baking, folk music (I fiddle badly in my church band), old buildings, mosaics, Celtic Christianity, thick woolly jumpers\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh yes: And I do have a soft spot for all things puppetry. You have been warned!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Some Writing Success<\/span>:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Historical Association Young Quills (2026)<\/strong> :To War with Wallace, Shortlisted <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Association Young Quills (2025)<\/strong> :The Boy, the Witch and the Queen of Scots, Shortlisted and<\/strong><\/span> Highly Commended (Runner-Up)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Association Young Quills (2024)<\/strong>:Rivet Boy – Shortlisted<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Books for Topics Best Book for Curriculum Support (2023)<\/strong>: Rivet Boy – Winner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Association Young Quills (2022)<\/strong>: The Chessmen Thief – Winner<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historical Association Young Quills (2021)<\/strong>: The Siege of Caerlaverock – Winner<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite (2018): <\/strong>Punch – Shortlisted <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nairn Festival Short Story Competition<\/strong> (2012) \u2013 Winner<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creative Scotland Easter Monologue Competition<\/strong> (2013) \u2013 Winner<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ballantrae Smugglers Festival Short Story Competition<\/strong> (2015): Winner<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pockets Magazine Fiction Contest, US (2015): Winner<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelpies Prize (2013)<\/strong> : Never Back<\/em><\/strong> was one of three shortlisted<\/strong>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ACW UK Short Story for Children Competition<\/strong> (2014)  \u2013 Runner-up<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scottish Association of Writers\u2019 Write Up North<\/strong> 2014:  3rd<\/sup> place<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi there! Lovely that you’ve dropped by!   I write novels for children: Fir for Luck\u00a0 (2016), Punch (2017), Wilderness Wars (2018), Black Water (2019), The Siege of Caerlaverock (2020), The Chessmen Thief (2021), The Reluctant Rebel (2022), Rivet Boy (2023), \u00a0The Boy, the Witch and the Queen of Scots (2024), I Don’t Do Mountains … Continue reading About Me<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2320,"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2\/revisions\/2320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.barbarahenderson.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}