Saviour Pirotta | |
---|---|
Born | 1958 (age 65–66) Malta |
Occupation | Author |
Nationality | British |
Genre | Children's picture books, Greek myth, fiction, historical fiction, detective stories, non-fiction |
Years active | 1986–present |
Notable works | The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths, Firebird, Ancient Greek Mysteries |
Website | |
saviourpirotta |
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] His books are particularly successful in the UK, Greece, Italy and South Korea.
The second of five brothers, Pirotta grew up speaking both English and Maltese. 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 Catholics, 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 film animator Ray Harryhausen and Alexander Korda.[ citation needed ]
Pirotta 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. 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 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. [6]
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. [7] It also won a Best Book Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. [8]
In November 2016, The Bookseller announced that Saviour Pirotta and his then agents Pollinger Ltd [9] 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.
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. In 2020, Pirotta's literary agents signed a translation deal with Midsea Books in Malta to produce his Stone Age Wolfsong series, which is partly set on the island. The series is translated by Noel Tanti. In 2021, Midsea Books also published Pirotta's set of ten First Greek Myths.
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.
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 was sold out. Pirotta was commissioned to write a second play, an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood for the SJT. It was scheduled for April 2020 but the production was put back to 2021 and then 2022 due to the Coronavirus Panademic. In 2024 Teatru Malta announced that Pirotta had adapted his bestselling series First Greek Myths into a family musical to be performed at Teatru Salesjan in Sliema ahead of a European tour. [14] Called Miti, Miti the show is part of the Ziguzajg children's theatre festival.
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] the Big Malarkey in Hull and the Beverley LitUp Festival.
FICTION
ANTHOLOGIES
SERIES
PICTURE BOOKS
Firebird and fire bird may refer to:
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Firebird is a 2010 picture book written by Saviour Pirotta illustrated by Catherine Hyde. It was published by Templar Publishing in the United Kingdom and by Candlewick Press in the United States. Firebird won an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society and a Best Book Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio. It was also nominated for the Kate Greenaway medal in the UK.
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