Henrietta Branford

Henrietta Branford (1946-1999) was an Indian-born fiction writer who wrote many novels including Fire, Bed and Bone. After her death in 1999 Julia Eccleshare (Children's Book Editor of the Guardian newspaper and chairman of the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize) and Anne Marley (Head of Children's, Youth & Schools Services for Hampshire Library & Information Service) decided to create an annual award named the Branford Boase Award in commemoration of both Henrietta and her colleague Wendy Boase (who was her editor) who also died of cancer the same year. Henrietta had wanted to create an award for children before she had died which is now known as the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition.