More About Me

Rico is an award-winning football-mad 13-year-old boy who plays for the U13s at Manchester City Football Club. He lives in the North West, with his sister, two dads and his little dog Meili. 

Rico has played for several Premier League Clubs in the past, including Manchester United, Everton and Liverpool FC. He made the switch from being an outfield player to a new role as keeper and is enjoying the fresh challenges it brings.

 

Rico, to date, is the youngest ever shortlisted finalist in The Sunday Times Sports Book of the Year Awards (2023) and is hoping his new book - ‘Football is For Everyone” published in August 2024 (Bloomsbury) will be just as successful as his debut book - ‘Strong And Tough’

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His debut book - ‘Strong And Tough’ was originally written during homework club at Manchester City FC in 2020, Hinson-King went on to win the Premier League Young Writer of the Year competition with his powerful short story on the topic "fearless", loosely based on his personal life story. 
Strong and Tough tells a story through the character of Charlie. When Charlie’s birth parents were unable to look after him, he and his two sisters were taken into foster care. "At first they were split up. Sometimes Charlie felt alone and confused," the synopsis explains. "Sometimes he wanted to scream and cry, and he did, just a little–but Charlie always tried to stay strong. Strong and Tough is all about how, like Charlie, Rico found hope and resilience along the journey to finding his forever family and played lots of football along the way.”

 

Rico has appeared on radio and TV many times,  talking about a wide variety of topics from football to being a former foster child - and everything in-between. (CH4, ITV, BBC1, CH5, Sky News) 

Most notably he appeared alongside HRH The Princess of Wales in the ITV special on Christmas Eve, when they both surprised his old football coach, honouring his role as a mentor to Rico. He also had the privilege of lighting a candle at the Royal Christmas Carol Concert in Westminster Abbey.

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In his Second book Rico takes on the topics of diversity and inclusion.

'Football Is For Everyone'  is an empowering and authentic football story by Hinson-King, illustrated by the beloved Nick Sharratt about bravery, teamwork and making sure EVERYONE is included…

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Rico said: “For my second book, I really wanted to look at the way being included can make a huge difference. I myself have experienced the feeling of being left out and I thought it was an important topic for children to understand. I was utterly delighted to work with Nick again and his brilliant drawings bring so much life to my words. We make a great team.”

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Charlie LOVES football. In fact, it is his life.

He practises morning, noon and night and all of his dreams come true when he gets a spot on a pro football team.

However, at Charlie's school things aren't going so well as one of his friends starts leaving him out during football. Charlie notices that other children are being left out too – just because they are different. But Charlie knows that football is for EVERYONE so he starts a team where ALL are welcome, no matter who you are or what you look like.

A heart-warming tale about the importance of including everyone.

Bloomsbury publishing acquired world rights in the text from Amber Caravéo at Skylark Literary while Sally Beets, commissioning editor for children's non-fiction, acquired world rights in the illustrations from Anthony Goff at David Higham. Strong and Tough publishes simultaneously in hardback and paperback in the second half of 2022, ahead of National Adoption Week in October.
Hinson-King said: "I wrote Strong and Tough because I wanted all other kids to know what it's like being in foster care. I wanted kids to know, it's okay to come from this background and never to give up–even when it gets really tough. It's important those kids in care see their experience in a book, and for kids who haven’t been in care or adopted to understand a bit more about what it’s like. I’m really happy because Bloomsbury and Nick are helping me to share my story in the best way and I can't wait to share the book with everyone!"
Beets said: "When we first came across Rico’s story here at Bloomsbury, we were all struck by how incredibly real, moving and unique it was. This is an important tale that hasn’t been told before, and one that we know will be a really powerful tool in encouraging empathy and understanding, as well helping other children going through similar circumstances feel less alone. Rico’s inspirational words together with Nick’s inimitable, immediate and charming illustrations make for a perfect paring. Nick’s work on the Tracy Beaker series speaks to his track record of illustrating sensitive subjects with care and thoughtfulness and we are hugely excited to be working with him on this book. Rico is a huge talent and an absolute joy to be around – we are beyond pleased that he chose to team up with Bloomsbury."
Sharratt said: "I'm so delighted to be illustrating Rico's book Strong and Tough. It's no wonder that this stirring story, told with such warmth and humour, is an award winner. I'm really looking forward to working on it."
RICO HINSON-KING