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Joe Craig (writer)

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For those of the same name, see Joe Craig (footballer) and Joseph Craig (disambiguation).

Joe Craig
Born (1981-12-31) 31 December 1981 (age 42)
London, England
OccupationWriter, Musician
GenreSpy, Adventure, Thriller, Children's Books
Website
www.joecraig.co.uk

Joe Craig (born 31 December 1981 in London) is an English writer, children's novelist and musician. He is best known for the Jimmy Coates series of books, which is sometimes compared to the work of Jack Heath (Six of Hearts) or Anthony Horowitz (Alex Rider), and described in several reviews as "The Bourne Identity for kids".[1]

Biography

Craig was born and grew up in North London, where he attended University College School. He went on to study philosophy at Emmanuel College, Cambridge where he wrote and composed music for the Cambridge Footlights.

In his final year at university he was head-hunted by Shell Oil but in the same week was offered a job composing a musical for the London stage. He turned down Shell to pursue a career in music, composing scores for theatre and TV productions.

In 2002 he provided the score for Told You So, a musical adaptation of Aesop's fables, with book and lyrics by John Finnemore, but in 2003 he moved away from the theatre to write pop material and to perform as a singer-songwriter and jazz musician.

In the same year he started work on his first novel, a thriller for children and young adults, and in 2004 he signed a two-book deal with HarperCollins Children's Books. His first book was one of the biggest selling children's book debuts of 2005 in the UK.

In 2008, he married anthropologist and archaeologist Mary-Ann Ochota. He now tours around schools encouraging reading, writing and promoting his books.

Books

(Released in the United States under the title Jimmy Coates: Assassin.) Finalist for the 2006 Manchester Book Award, winner of the Bolton Children's Book Award 2006.[2]

  • Jimmy Coates: Killer
  • Jimmy Coates: Target, HarperCollins Children's Books, May 2006, ISBN 0-00-719686-5
  • Jimmy Coates: Revenge, HarperCollins Children's Books, January 2007, ISBN 0-00-723285-3
  • Jimmy Coates: Sabotage, HarperCollins Children's Books, October 2007, ISBN 0-00-723286-1
  • Jimmy Coates: Survival, HarperCollins Children's Books, April 2008, ISBN 0-00-727099-2
  • Jimmy Coates: Power, HarperCollins Children's Books, October 2008, ISBN 978-0-00-727730-8
  • Jimmy Coates: Blackout, HarperCollins Children's Books, June 2013, ISBN 978-0007524327

The eighth and final book in the series will be titled Jimmy Coates: Genesis.

  • Lifters, Franklin Watts, September 2011, ISBN 978-1-4451-0555-0

Short e-books:

  • Save the Human, CB Creative Books, December 2014
  • Head Strong, CB Creative Books, December 2014
  • The Mendack Affair, CB Creative Books, December 2014

Music

In 2011 Joe Craig released his first album under his own name, The Songman & Me, vol. 1. He wrote and performed all the songs on the collection.

References

  1. ^ Jimmy Coates reviews
  2. ^ University of Bolton - Joe Craig Wins Book Award

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