Saviour Pirotta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saviour Pirotta
Pirotta at the Austrian National Library in Vienna in 2018
Born	1958 (age 67–68) Malta
Occupation	Author
Nationality	British
Genre	Children's picture books, Greek myths, fiction, historical fiction, detective stories, non-fiction
Years active	1986–present
Notable works	The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths, Firebird, The Wolfsong Series

Saviour Pirotta is a talented author and playwright. He was born in Malta and now lives in England, in the United Kingdom. He is famous for his many books for children, especially his bestselling book, The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths. He also wrote Firebird and the exciting Ancient Greek Mysteries Series for Bloomsbury. His stories are very popular in countries like the UK, Greece, Italy, and South Korea.

Childhood

Saviour Pirotta grew up in Malta as the second of five brothers. He learned to speak both English and Maltese. He went to Naxxar Primary School and later earned a scholarship to St Aloysius' College. From a young age, he loved reading. He discovered wonderful books like the Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, and Treasure Island by R.L. Stevenson. His parents, who were very religious, encouraged him to focus on other activities instead of some arts and TV shows. However, Saviour found inspiration for his writing in the films of Ray Harryhausen and Alexander Korda.

Career in the UK

In 1981, Saviour Pirotta moved to the UK. His first job was directing short plays for a group called Moonshine Community Arts Workshop in London. This led him to work as a storyteller for the Commonwealth Institute until 1989.

After his children's play was published, Pirotta focused on writing. He started with picture books and then moved into non-fiction. He became known for books about pirates and religious festivals. His book Pirates and Treasure, published in 1995, was one of the first children's books to show sea-robbers from many different cultures. He also wrote science books for young children under the name Sam Godwin. One of these, A Seed in Need, which explained the life cycle of a flower, won the 1998 English Association Award for best non-fiction picture book.

Another of his books, Turtle Bay, was chosen as a Notable Science Trade Book in 1998 by the National Science Teachers Association and The Children's Book Council. It was also picked by American Bookseller as a top children's book. Parts of his books are often used in schools and for tests in the US.

In November 2010, his picture book Firebird received an Aesop Accolade from the American Folklore Society. It also won a Best Book Award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio.

In November 2016, it was announced that Saviour Pirotta would write a series of adventure stories for middle-grade readers. These books, set in Ancient Greece, are called the Ancient Greek Mysteries. The first book, Mark of the Cyclops, came out in March 2017. Secret of the Oracle followed in October 2017. Two more books, Pirates of Poseidon and Shadow of the Centaurs, were published in 2018.

In 2018, Maverick Books announced another four-book series by Pirotta, set in the Stone Age. This series is called Wolfsong. The first book, The Stolen Spear, was published in August 2019. In January 2019, Bloomsbury also published an adventure story set in the golden age of Islam, called The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad.

Saviour Pirotta is now a British citizen. He lives in Scarborough, in North Yorkshire.

Work in Translation

Saviour Pirotta's books have been translated into many languages. They are published by major companies in countries all over the world. These include the United States, Australia, Canada, Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Japan, and South Korea. In 2020, his Stone Age Wolfsong series, which takes place partly on the island of Malta, was translated into Maltese. In 2021, his collection of ten First Greek Myths was also published in Maltese.

Collaborations

Saviour Pirotta has worked with many famous children's illustrators. Some of these talented artists include Jane Ray, Emma Chichester Clark, Catherine Hyde, Chris Riddell, Chris Mould, Jan Lewis, Alan Marks, Toni Goffe, and Richard Johnson.

Theatre

In July 2019, the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough announced it would stage Saviour Pirotta's first professional play for children. The play, called Granny's Exploding Toilet, was performed in the autumn of that year. All the tickets for the show were sold out! Pirotta was then asked to write a second play, an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood. This play was planned for April 2020, but the production had to stop because of the pandemic.

In 2024, Teatru Malta announced that Pirotta had adapted his popular series First Greek Myths into a family musical. This musical, called Miti, Miti, was performed at Teatru Salesjan in Sliema. It was part of the Ziguzajg children's theatre festival. The show also had performances at Teatro Due in Parma, Italy. It was also staged at the Espace Gruber Theatre in Strasbourg as part of Malta's celebration of its EU presidency in 2025.

Festival appearances

Saviour Pirotta has appeared at many book festivals. He has shared his stories at events like the Edinburgh Children's Book Festival, the Bradford Literary Festival, and the Northern Children's Book Festival. He has also visited the Swansea Book Festival, the Scarborough Literary Festival, and the Big Malarkey in Hull.

Awards and honours

Saviour Pirotta has received many awards for his wonderful books:

• The Heart Scarab was considered for the Sparkle Book Awards in 2022-2023.
• Pandora's Box won the Fiction Express Readers Award for Best Fiction in 2020.
• The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad was a finalist for the North Somerset Teachers' Book Award for Quality Fiction in 2019.
• The Unicorn Prince was featured in The Guardian's Books of the Month in October 2018.
• Mark of the Cyclops was a finalist for the Historical Association Young Quills Award in 2018.
• Mark of the Cyclops won the North Somerset Teachers' Book Award for Quality Fiction in 2018.
• Firebird won an Aesop Accolade in the US in 2010.
• Firebird won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award in 2010.
• The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths was included in the Ultimate Young Book Guide in 2002.

Selected works

Here are some of Saviour Pirotta's books:

Fiction

• An Elephant for the Emperor, Bloomsbury 2026
• The Book of Songs, Maverick 2026
• The Case of the Blue Mask, Fiction Express 2025
• Crash Landing, Fiction Express 2024
• Earth Shaker, Fiction Express 2022
• The Nile Adventures Series:
  • The Heart Scarab (Book 1), Maverick 2022
  • The Crocodile Curse (Book 2), Maverick 2022
  • The Jackal's Graveyard (Book 3), Maverick 2023
  • The Serpent's Eclipse (Book 4), Maverick 2024
• The Wolfsong Series:
  • The Stolen Spear (Book 1), Maverick 2019
  • The Whispering Stones (Book 2), Maverick 2020
  • The Mysterious Island (Book 3), Maverick 2021
  • The Wolf's Song (Book 4), Maverick 2022
• Ancient Greek Mystery Series:
  • Mark of the Cyclops, Bloomsbury 2017
  • Secret of the Oracle, Bloomsbury 2017
  • Pirates of Poseidon, Bloomsbury 2018
  • Shadow of the Centaurs, Bloomsbury 2018
• The Golden Horsemen of Baghdad, Bloomsbury 2019
• Pandora's Box, Fiction Express 2020

Anthologies

• Tales From Around the World, Blackie & Sons, 1994
• Joy to the World: Christmas Stories from around the Globe, Frances Lincoln/Harpercollins, 1998
• The Orchard Book of First Greek Myths, Orchard Books, 2003
• Aesop's Fables, Kingfisher 2005

Early Readers

• First Greek Myths, ten books, Orchard Books, March 2008/2010
• Grimm's Fairy Tales, eight books, Orchard Books, March 2012/ paperback January 2013

Picture Books

• Turtle Bay, Frances Lincoln/Farrar Straus Giroux, 1998
• Firebird, Templar September 2010
• The Unicorn Prince, Orchard Books 2018