Barry Hines
Encyclopedia
Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL
(born 30 June 1939) is a British
author
who has written several popular novel
s and television scripts
.
, England
, he attended Ecclesfield Grammar School
and played football for the England Grammar Schools team. After leaving school without any qualifications he first worked for the National Coal Board
as an apprentice mining surveyor at Rockingham Colliery. A neighbour that he chanced to meet at the coal face disapproved of his failure to meet his potential and Hines has said that this was when he decided to return to school to take his examinations. He achieved four A levels, and then studied for a teaching qualification at Loughborough University
. He worked as a Physical Education
teacher for several years, first for two years in a London comprehensive school
, and subsequently in Hoyland Common, where he wrote novels in the school library after the children had gone home. He later became a full-time
author.
(1968), which was adapted by the author for the film version Kes
(1969), which was directed by Ken Loach
. The story is that of a troubled schoolboy living in a poor mining
village near Barnsley who finds comfort in tending a kestrel hawk named 'Kes'. Threads
(1984), for which Hines wrote the script, is a speculative television drama examining the effects of nuclear war on Sheffield.
. Threads
won a special award at the 1985 Monte-Carlo Television Festival, the Broadcasting Press Guild Award in 1985 for Best Single Drama, and was nominated for seven different awards in the 1985 BAFTA Awards. Hines has been made an Honorary Fellow of Sheffield Hallam University
.
Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature is the "senior literary organisation in Britain". It was founded in 1820 by George IV, in order to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". The Society's first president was Thomas Burgess, who later became the Bishop of Salisbury...
(born 30 June 1939) is a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who has written several popular novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s and television scripts
Screenwriting
Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is a freelance profession....
.
Early life
Born in the mining village of Hoyland Common near BarnsleyBarnsley
Barnsley is a town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies on the River Dearne, north of the city of Sheffield, south of Leeds and west of Doncaster. Barnsley is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley, of which Barnsley is the largest and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, he attended Ecclesfield Grammar School
Ecclesfield School
Ecclesfield School is a secondary school situated on Chapeltown Road between Chapeltown and Ecclesfield, South Yorkshire in the East Ecclesfield district of Sheffield. It is in the Sheffield LEA, and is for ages 11–16. It has around 1,750 pupils.-History:It used to be known as Ecclesfield...
and played football for the England Grammar Schools team. After leaving school without any qualifications he first worked for the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
as an apprentice mining surveyor at Rockingham Colliery. A neighbour that he chanced to meet at the coal face disapproved of his failure to meet his potential and Hines has said that this was when he decided to return to school to take his examinations. He achieved four A levels, and then studied for a teaching qualification at Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
. He worked as a Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
teacher for several years, first for two years in a London comprehensive school
Comprehensive school
A comprehensive school is a state school that does not select its intake on the basis of academic achievement or aptitude. This is in contrast to the selective school system, where admission is restricted on the basis of a selection criteria. The term is commonly used in relation to the United...
, and subsequently in Hoyland Common, where he wrote novels in the school library after the children had gone home. He later became a full-time
Full time
Full-time employment is employment in which the employee works the full number of hours defined as such by his/her employer. Full-time employment often comes with benefits that are not typically offered to part-time, temporary, or flexible workers, such as annual leave, sickleave, and health...
author.
Author
Hines is best known for the novel A Kestrel for a KnaveA Kestrel for a Knave
A Kestrel for a Knave is a novel by British author Barry Hines, published in 1968. It is set in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and tells of Billy Casper, a young working class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he finds and trains a kestrel whom he names "Kes".The book was...
(1968), which was adapted by the author for the film version Kes
Kes (film)
Kes is a 1969 British film from director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett. The film is based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by the Barnsley-born author Barry Hines in 1968...
(1969), which was directed by Ken Loach
Ken Loach
Kenneth "Ken" Loach is a Palme D'Or winning English film and television director.He is known for his naturalistic, social realist directing style and for his socialist beliefs, which are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as homelessness , labour rights and child abuse at the...
. The story is that of a troubled schoolboy living in a poor mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
village near Barnsley who finds comfort in tending a kestrel hawk named 'Kes'. Threads
Threads
Threads is a British television drama produced by the BBC in 1984. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, it is a documentary-style account of a nuclear war and its effects on the city of Sheffield in northern England....
(1984), for which Hines wrote the script, is a speculative television drama examining the effects of nuclear war on Sheffield.
Recognition
Hines' film Looks and Smiles (dir. Ken Loach) won the Best Contemporary Screenplay prize at the 1981 Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. Threads
Threads
Threads is a British television drama produced by the BBC in 1984. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, it is a documentary-style account of a nuclear war and its effects on the city of Sheffield in northern England....
won a special award at the 1985 Monte-Carlo Television Festival, the Broadcasting Press Guild Award in 1985 for Best Single Drama, and was nominated for seven different awards in the 1985 BAFTA Awards. Hines has been made an Honorary Fellow of Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University is a higher education institution in South Yorkshire, England, based on two sites in Sheffield. City Campus is located in the city centre, close to Sheffield railway station, and Collegiate Crescent Campus is about two miles away, adjacent to Ecclesall Road in...
.
Novels
- The Blinder (1966)
- A Kestrel for a KnaveA Kestrel for a KnaveA Kestrel for a Knave is a novel by British author Barry Hines, published in 1968. It is set in Barnsley, South Yorkshire and tells of Billy Casper, a young working class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he finds and trains a kestrel whom he names "Kes".The book was...
(1968) (later filmed as KesKes (film)Kes is a 1969 British film from director Ken Loach and producer Tony Garnett. The film is based on the novel A Kestrel for a Knave, written by the Barnsley-born author Barry Hines in 1968...
) - First Signs (1972)
- The Gamekeeper (1975) (later made into a film of the same name)
- Unfinished Business (1983)
- The Heart of It (1994)
- Elvis over England (2000)
- This Artistic Life (2009)
Radio and television
- Billy's Last Stand (1970)
- Speech Day (1972)
- Two Men From Derby (1976)
- The Price of CoalThe Price of CoalThe Price of Coal is two linked television plays from 1977, scripted by Barry Hines and directed by Ken Loach.They are set in a Yorkshire coal mine...
(1977) - ThreadsThreadsThreads is a British television drama produced by the BBC in 1984. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, it is a documentary-style account of a nuclear war and its effects on the city of Sheffield in northern England....
(1984) - Born Kicking (1992)