| Joe Craig | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 June 1981 London, England |
| Occupation | Writer, Musician |
| Genres | Spy, Adventure, Thriller, Children's Books |
| Notable work(s) | Jimmy Coates series |
|
www.joecraig.co.uk |
|
Joe Craig (born 30 June 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]
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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 broadcaster Mary Ann Ochota.
Craig is consistently at the forefront of use of new media by children's writers. In 2005 he was one of the first authors to use Facebook to build a fanbase and enhance fans' experience of his writing, using character profiles as well as his personal pages to create an online world that reflected that of his books. He was also one of the first children's writers to utilise Twitter as a means of communicating with fans and creating new stories. He continues to use both, as well as experimenting with new kinds of author videos and book trailers on video sites, such as youtube.
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.[2]
The seventh book in the series will be titled Jimmy Coates: Blackout. The eighth and final book in the series will be titled Jimmy Coates: Genesis.
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.
Previously, in his country song writing pursuits, Craig had taken on the stage name Craig Travis Williams.