Joe Craig
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- For the Scottish footballer, see Joe Craig (footballer)
Joe Craig (born 31 December 1980, cousin of actor Daniel Craig) is a British children's novelist and musician.
Craig attended University College School in North London before studying philosophy at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. There, he wrote for the Cambridge Footlights and, most significantly, composed scores for dozens of theatrical productions. This led him, on graduation, to write the music for Told You So, a musical adaptation of Aesop's fables.
He quickly moved away from the theatre, however, to write pop material and to perform as a jazz musician, before finding a new role as an author of novels for children and young adults. He is now best known for the Jimmy Coates series, 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'.
[edit] Books
- Jimmy Coates: Killer, HarperCollins Children's Books, March 2005, ISBN 0007196857
Shortly after the UK publication, Craig's first book was released in the United States under the title Jimmy Coates: Assassin? It was a finalist for the 2006 Manchester Book Award, and won the Bolton Children's Book Award 2006.[1]
- Jimmy Coates: Target, HarperCollins Children's Books, May 2006, ISBN 0007196865
- Jimmy Coates: Revenge, HarperCollins Children's Books, January 2007, ISBN 0007232853
- Jimmy Coates: Sabotage, HarperCollins Children's Books, October 2007, ISBN 0007232861
- Jimmy Coates: Survival, HarperCollins Children's Books, April 2008, ISBN 0007270992
- Jimmy Coates: Power, HarperCollins Children's Books, due October 2008
Craig frequently draws on his philosophical background to infuse the plots of the Jimmy Coates series with problems of personal identity, free will, the abuse of power, and similar questions.
