Saviour Pirotta

Saviour Pirotta is a Maltese-born British author and playwright who resides in England. He is mostly known for the bestselling The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths, an adaptation of the Russian folktale, Firebird, and the Ancient Greek Mysteries Series for Bloomsbury.[1]

Saviour Pirotta
Pirotta at the Austrian National Library in Vienna in 2018
Born1958 (age 62–63)
Malta
OccupationAuthor
NationalityBritish
GenreChildren's picture books, poetry, Greek myth, fiction, historical fiction, detective stories, non-fiction
Notable worksThe Orchard Book of First Greek Myths, Firebird, Ancient Greek Mysteries
Years active1986–present
Website
saviourpirotta.com

Childhood

The second of five brothers, Pirotta grew up speaking both English and Maltese. His father, Anthony, is a retired joiner and his mother, née Cini, is a home maker. He attended Naxxar Primary School (now Maria Regina College) and later won a scholarship to St Aloysius' College, one of the most prestigious schools on the island. He developed a love of literature early on in life when he discovered the Narnia books by C.S. Lewis,[2] Ian Serraillier's The Silver Sword and R.L. Stevenson's Treasure Island.[3] The author's parents, both extremely devout buffings, encouraged his writing but discouraged his general interest in the arts[4] and censored most television programmes but Pirotta cites as visual influences on his writing the works of a film animator Ray Harryhausen and Alexander Korda.

Career in the UK

Having finished his secondary education at St. Aloysius College, Pirotta enrolled in a hotel management course, but left during the second year. He emigrated to the UK in 1981 where his first job was directing three short plays for Moonshine Community Arts Workshop in London, an offshoot of Brian Way's pioneering Theatre Centre. He also wrote a children's play based on a Maltese folk tale which toured various venues around London, including the Oval House and Jacksons Lane Community Centre.[5] This brought him to the attention of the Commonwealth Institute, where he worked as a workshop leader and storyteller till 1989.

The children's play was subsequently published by Samuel French and Pirotta has since concentrated on writing. His first efforts were picture books but he soon moved into non-fiction, specialising in pirates and religious festivals. His Pirates and Treasure, published in the UK, the US, Russia and Sweden in 1995 is widely considered to be the first children's book about sea-robbers with a multi-cultural viewpoint. For a while he also wrote science books for the very young using the pen name Sam Godwin.[6] A Seed in Need – a first look at life cycle of a flower – won him the 1998 English Association Award for best non-fiction picture book.

Turtle Bay, published by Frances Lincoln in the UK and Farrar, Straus, Giroux in the United States, was selected by members of a book review panel appointed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) and assembled in co-operation with The Children's Book Council (CBC) as a Notable Science Trade Book of 1998. American Bookseller also chose it as one of their fall children's books 'pick of the list'. In the US, excerpts from his works are often used by homeschoolers and in schools for multiple choice tests.[7]

In November 2010, his picture book Firebird was awarded an Aesop Accolade by the American Folklore Society. It shared the honour with Eric A. Kimmel's Joha Makes a Wish: A Middle Eastern Tale and Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham.[8] It also won a Best Book Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.[9]

In November 2016, The Bookseller announced that Saviour Pirotta and his agents, Pollinger Ltd had signed a contract with Bloomsbury Publishing for a series of middle grade adventure stories set in Ancient Greece.[10] The series was titled Ancient Greek Mysteries. The first title, Mark of the Cyclops, published in March 2017 and the second, Secret of the Oracle followed in October. Two more titles appeared in 2018. These were called Pirates of Poseidon and Shadow of the Centaurs.

In 2018, Maverick Books announced a four book series by Pirotta set in the Neolithic period entitled Wolfsong. The first book, The Stolen Spear was published in August 2019. In January 2019, Bloomsbury also published another adventure, this time set in the golden age of Islam called The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad.[11]

The author is now a British citizen and lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire.

Work in Translation

Pirotta's books have been translated and published by major commercial publishers in various countries, including the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Slovakia, Holland, Portugal, Germany, Rumania, Belgium, Sweden, Brazil, Thailand, Greece, Estonia, Poland, Russia, Lebanon, Japan, South Africa, Indonesia and South Korea.

Collaborations

Pirotta has collaborated with some of the biggest names in children's illustration today, including Jane Ray, Emma Chichester Clark, Catherine Hyde, Chris Riddell, Chris Mould, Jan Lewis, Alan Marks, Toni Goffe and Richard Johnson.

Theatre

In July 2019, the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, announced that it is staging the world premiere of Pirotta's first professional play for children, Granny's Exploding Toilet, in the autumn. [12][13] The entire run of nine performances was sold out. Pirotta was commissioned to write a second play, and adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood for the SJT. It was scheduled for April 2020 but the production was put back to 2021 due to the Coronavirus Panademic.[14]

Festival appearances

Pirotta has appeared at the Edinburgh Children's Book Festival, the Bradford Literary Festival,[15] the Northern Children's Book Festival, the Swansea Book Festival, the Scarborough Literary Festival, the Linton Book Festival, the Liverpool Children's Festival of Reading [16] and the Beverley LitUp Festival.

Awards and Honours
  • Fiction Express Most Popular Novel, Category 2. Winner for Pandora's Box. [17]
  • North Somerset Teacher's Book Award 2019, for The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad, shortlisted.[18]
  • The Guardian's Children's Books of the Month, October 2018 for The Unicorn Prince [19]
  • North Somerset Teachers'Book Awards 2018, for Mark of the Cyclops. Winner. [Bloomsbury Education] [20]
  • Historical Association, Young Quills Award 2018, for Mark of the Cyclops. Shortlisted. [Bloomsbury Education][21]
  • The Guardian, Best Children's Books 2016 for Perseus and Medea [QED Publishing]
  • The Guardian, Best Children's Books 2016 for Jason and the Golden Fleece [QED Publishing]
  • The Guardian, Best Children's Books 2016 for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow [QED Publishing]
  • Ultimate Young Book Guide 2002, The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths [Orchard Books]
  • Notable Science Trade Book, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) & The Children's Book Council for Turtle Bay, 1997
  • English Association Award, Best Non-Fiction Picture Book 1998 for A Seed In Need Winner.
  • Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, Category Books, 2010 for Firebird
  • Aesop Accolade, 2010 for Firebird

Selected works

FICTION

  • The Stolen Spear (Book 1 of the Wolfsong Series), Maverick 2019
  • The Whispering Stones (Book 2 of the Wolfsong Series), Maverick 2020
  • The Mysterious Island (Book 3 of the Wolfsong Series), Maverick 2021[22]
  • The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad, Bloomsbury 2019 [23]
  • The River Queen, Fiction Express 2018[24]
  • The River King, Fiction Express 2018
  • The River Prince, Fiction Express 2019
  • Pandora's Box, Fiction Express 2020
  • Mark of the Cyclops - An Ancient Greek Mystery, Bloomsbury 2017
  • Secret of the Oracle - An Ancient Greek Mystery, Bloomsbury 2017
  • Pirates of Poseidon - An Ancient Greek Mystery, Bloomsbury 2018
  • Shadow of the Centaurs - An Ancient Greek Mystery, Bloomsbury 2018
  • The Warrior Princess, Fiction Express 2017
  • My Cousin the Minotaur, Fiction Express 2016
  • Shadowcave, Fiction Express 2017

ANTHOLOGIES

  • Storyworld [illustrated by Fiona Small], Blackie & Sons, 1988 [re-issued as Tales From Around the World in 1994]
  • Joy to the World: Christmas Stories from around the Globe [illustrated by Sheila Moxley], Frances Lincoln/Harpercollins, 1998
  • The Sleeping Princess and other Fairy Tales from Grimm [illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark], Orchard Books 2002 [titled The MacElderry Book of Grimm's Fairy Tales in the US]
  • The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths [illustrated by Jan Lewis], Orchard Books, 2003
  • Once upon a World [illustrated by Alan Marks], Watts/Sea to Sea Publications, 2004
  • Aesop's Fables [illustrated by Richard Johnson], Kingfisher 2005
  • Traditional Stories from the Amazon [illustrated by Rebecca Gryspeerdt], Hodder Children's Books 2006
  • Around the World in 80 Tales [illustrated by Richard Johnson], Kingfisher 2007
  • Children's Stories from the Bible [illustrated by Ian Andrew and Anne Yvonne Gilbert], Templar 2008
  • The Giant Book of Giants, Egmont Books, October 2011
  • The Orchard Book of Grimm's Fairytales,[illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark] Orchard Books, November 2011[25]
  • The Buccaneering Book of Pirates, Frances Lincoln, October 2013
  • Greek Myths, [US only], Sterling Publishing, April 2015
  • The Orchard Book of Grimm's Fairy Tales - Deluxe edition, Orchard Books, 2015 [3 September 2015]
  • The Ghosts Who Danced, Frances Lincoln, [3 September 2015]
  • Orchard Ballet Stories for Young Children [illustrated by Brigette Barrager], Orchard Books, 2016.

SERIES

  • First Greek Myths, ten books [illustrated by Jan Lewis], Orchard Books, March 2008/2010
  • Grimm's Fairy Tales, eight books [illustrated by Cecilia Johansson], Orchard Books, March 2012/ paperback January 2013

PICTURE BOOKS

  • Solomon's Secret [illustrated by Helen Cooper], Methuen/Dial 1989
  • Do You Believe in Magic? 1990
  • Little Bird [illustrated by Steve Butler], Frances Lincoln/Tambourine 1992
  • Turtle Bay [illustrated by Nilesh Mistry], Frances Lincoln/Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998 [re-issued as Turtle Watch, 2008]
  • Patrick Paints a Picture [illustrated by Linz West], Frances Lincoln 2008
  • Firebird [illustrated by Catherine Hyde], Templar September 2010/paperback, 2014
  • George and the Dragon, [illustrated by Martina Peluso], harpercollins 2015
  • The Talking Bird, [illustrated by Louise Pigott], harpercollins, 2017
  • The Unicorn Prince [illustrated by Jane Ray] Orchard Books 2018

References
  1. "Biography". Author's official website. Archived from the original on 20 February 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  2. Life, Words for (2 March 2017). "Words for Life - Saviour Pirotta". www.wordsforlife.org.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  3. "Education". Education. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  4. http://www.wordsforlife.org.uk/saviour-pirotta
  5. "Saviour Pirotta". Children's Discovery Centre. Archived from the original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
  6. http://www.lovereading4kids.co.uk/author/Sam-Godwin/gd/Sam-Godwin.html
  7. New York State Test Questions Tricky for 3rd Graders, and Maybe Some Adults - The New York Times
  8. American Folklore Society Aesop Prize and Aesop Accolades
  9. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio: Firebird
  10. http://www.thebookseller.com/news/four-ancient-greek-mysteries-bloomsbury-education-420451
  11. https://bloomsbury.com/uk/the-golden-horsemen-of-baghdad-9781472955999/
  12. https://www.sjt.uk.com/event/874/grannys_exploding_toilet
  13. https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/Childrens-Author-Writes-First-Play-GRANNYS-EXPLODING-TOILET-For-The-Stephen-Joseph-Theatre-20190926
  14. https://www.sjt.uk.com/event/942/little_red_riding_hood
  15. https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/?s=Saviour+Pirotta&Submit=Search&post_type=event
  16. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/liverpool-childrens-festival-of-reading-saviour-pirotta-tickets-61291855590
  17. https://twitter.com/fiction_express/status/1329365835387965440
  18. http://www.northsomersetteachersbookaward.com/blog/2019/8/10/nstba-quality-fiction-category-2019?rq=The%20Golden%20Horsemen
  19. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/oct/27/childrens-and-teens-round up-the-best-new-picture-books-and-novels
  20. http://www.northsomersetteachersbookaward.com/2018-award/
  21. https://www.history.org.uk/getinvolved/categories/515/info/3572/young-quills-2018-shortlist-and-reviews
  22. https://maverickbooks.co.uk/books/the-mysterious-island/
  23. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/search?q=The+Golden+Horsemen&Gid=1
  24. https://www.fictionexpress.co.uk/book/river-queen/
  25. https://www.hachette.co.uk/books/detail.page?isbn=9781408309834
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