Fiona Waters
Anthologist and Children’s Author
From bookseller to publisher, Edinburgh-born Fiona Waters has worn many hats in the world of books. From John Smith’s Booksellers in Glasgow, she moved to Cambridge to run Heffers Children’s Bookshop for eight years before going to join The Bodley Head. Her last move took her to Dorset where she was the Editorial Director of Troubadour, then the largest independent Book Fair Company in the United Kingdom. She is renowned in the world of children’s books for her passion and enthusiasm and her encyclopaedic knowledge.
Fiona has over 100 book titles to her name, published in many different languages all over the world. Her love of poetry has been her guiding light; she was hooked from the moment she heard Gabriel Woolf reading The Lady of Shalott on the radio when she was seven years old. She has compiled a great number of poetry anthologies and is a recipient of the CLPE Poetry Prize. She now works as a consultant for several publishers. A recent collaboration was with French publisher Auzou on a collection of eight Shakespeare Plays in a version with intricate decoupage illustrations.
Most notably, Fiona compiled the poetry anthology I am the Seed that Grew the Tree, magnificently produced by Nosy Crow with glorious illustrations by Frann Preston-Gannon. Winner of the 2018 Waterstones Children’s Gift Book of the Year, the book has been hailed as a classic in the making.
From bookseller to publisher, Edinburgh-born Fiona Waters has worn many hats in the world of books. From John Smith’s Booksellers in Glasgow, she moved to Cambridge to run Heffers Children’s Bookshop for eight years before going to join The Bodley Head. Her last move took her to Dorset where she was the Editorial Director of Troubadour, then the largest independent Book Fair Company in the United Kingdom. She is renowned in the world of children’s books for her passion and enthusiasm and her encyclopaedic knowledge.
Fiona has over 100 book titles to her name, published in many different languages all over the world. Her love of poetry has been her guiding light; she was hooked from the moment she heard Gabriel Woolf reading The Lady of Shalott on the radio when she was seven years old. She has compiled a great number of poetry anthologies and is a recipient of the CLPE Poetry Prize. She now works as a consultant for several publishers. A recent collaboration was with French publisher Auzou on a collection of eight Shakespeare Plays in a version with intricate decoupage illustrations.
Most notably, Fiona compiled the poetry anthology I am the Seed that Grew the Tree, magnificently produced by Nosy Crow with glorious illustrations by Frann Preston-Gannon. Winner of the 2018 Waterstones Children’s Gift Book of the Year, the book has been hailed as a classic in the making.
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‘For those keen to introduce their children to poetry, I am the Seed that Grew the Tree is a classic in the making, a book the whole family will cherish for years to come,’ Emma Lee-Potter, The Independent.
‘I am besotted with I am the Seed. It’s the kind of book every household should own.’ Florentyna Martin, Children’s Buyer Waterstones. ‘The selection is extensive, intelligent and generous. It’s full of engaging poems, some of which are familiar and many that I enjoyed encountering for the first time. The ebb and flow of the seasons is brought wonderfully to life by Fiona Waters’ eclectic choices and Frann Preston-Gannon’s enchanting illustrations.’ Margaret Wallace-Jones, Alligator’s Mouth. ‘Take our word for it, I am the Seed that Grew the Tree is one of the most stunning books of the year.’ The Good Schools Guide. ‘Paired throughout with Preston-Gannon’s evocative, vibrantly textured digital illustrations, Waters’ superbly curated poems offer something for everyone: majestic and inspiring as nature itself.’ Kirkus Reviews. ‘Evidently sumptuous. A poetry book destined to survive the generations, passed down with worthy affection.’ The Sunday Telegraph. |
Fiona is currently working with Nosy Crow on a successor to I am the Seed that Grew the Tree.
www.nosycrow.com
www.waterstones.com
www.nosycrow.com
www.waterstones.com