Barstow, Stan, 1928-2011

Stan Barstow, the Yorkshire novelist and playwright, was born in 1928 in the West Riding of Yorkshire as the only son of a coal miner. He attended Ossett Grammar School and left at sixteen to join a local engineering firm. He started writing in the 1950s, and had some short stories broadcast by the BBC. His first published work was the short story 'The Search for Tommy Flynn' in 1957. An unpublished novel in 1956 was followed by A Kind of Loving in 1960. This was a major success, and was made into a film. Since then he has been a full time writer, his output including 11 novels, 3 books of short stories, TV and radio scripts, and plays. His autobiography, In My Own Good Time, was published in October 2001. His books have been translated into several languages, and are widely read in schools. He is an honorary MA of the Open University.

From the guide to the Literary papers and correspondence of Stan Barstow, 1956-1996, (Leeds University Library)