Vale Barbara Ker Wilson AM
24 September 1929 to 10 September 2020.
Barbara Ker Wilson, a founding member of the Society of Editors (Qld), passed away peacefully on 10 September.
Before emigrating to Australia from England in the 1960s, she worked alongside notable children’s authors such as Michael Bond, developing and discovering Paddington Bear, and C S Lewis on The Last Battle.
Her work in Australia began with Angus & Robertson with the publication of Kath Walker’s Stradbroke Dreamtime, followed by working at Hodder & Stoughton, building the groundwork for their children’s list. Later, she worked at Readers Digest and UQP.
Barbara was a valued member of the then Society of Editors (Qld), was its first meeting speaker in 1990, President in 2000 and was made an Honorary Life Member in 2002.
Highly influential and respected in her field, she was awarded the Pixie O’Harris Award for services to Children’s Literature in 1997 and the Dromkeen Medal in 1999, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2004.
Barbara retired to New South Wales in the late 2000s.
Margaret Hamilton AM, former Deputy Chair of the Children’s Book Council of Australia National Board, now operating Pinerolo, the Children’s Book Cottage, at Blackheath, New South Wales, said Barbara was her mentor and friend.
‘I enjoyed so much our time working together, building the award-winning Hodder children’s list. She was hugely respected and loved by authors she worked with, so many no longer with us, like Ivan Southall, Mavis Thorpe Clark, Hesba Brinsmead, Ruth Park, David Martin, Jean Chapman and many others,’ Margaret said.
‘She played a huge part in shaping my career in children’s books and I’ll always be grateful for her mentorship, her friendship and her mischievous sense of humour. She leaves a legacy unmatched in Australian publishing.’
Barbara Ker Wilson