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Anthony John Horowitz (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include the '' Alex Rider'' series featuring a 14-year-old British boy who spies for
MI6 The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
, '' The Power of Five'' series (known as '' The Gatekeepers'' in the US), and '' The Diamond Brothers'' series. Horowitz's works for adults include: the play '' Mindgame'' (2001); two
Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
novels, '' The House of Silk'' (2011) and '' Moriarty'' (2014); two novels featuring his own detective Susan Ryeland, '' Magpie Murders'' (2016) and '' Moonflower Murders'' (2020); five novels featuring a fictionalised version of himself as a companion and chronicler to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne: '' The Word Is Murder'' (2017), '' The Sentence Is Death'' (2018), ''A Line to Kill'' (2021), ''The Twist of a Knife'' (2022), and ''Close to Death'' (2024). The estate of
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
creator
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
chose Horowitz to write Bond novels utilising unpublished material by Fleming, starting with '' Trigger Mortis'' in 2015, followed by '' Forever and a Day'' in 2018, and a third and final novel ''With a Mind to Kill'' in May 2022. Horowitz has also written for television, contributing scripts to ITV's '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'' and adapting six early episodes of ''
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...
'' from the novels of Caroline Graham, including the first three episodes. He was the creator and writer of the ITV series '' Foyle's War'', '' Collision'' and ''
Injustice Injustice is a quality relating to unfairness or undeserved outcomes. The term may be applied in reference to a particular event or situation, or to a larger status quo. In Western philosophy and jurisprudence, injustice is very commonly—but ...
'', and the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
series '' Crime Traveller'' and '' New Blood''.


Early life

Horowitz was born in
Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
, into a
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family, and in his early years lived an upper middle class lifestyle. As a child, Horowitz used to go to Instow, where his nanny took him boating on the River Torridge. He also had a stuffed monkey named Benjamin (which was later eaten by his dog). Horowitz attended Orley Farm School. He started writing at the age of eight or nine and he instantly knew he would be a professional writer. This was because he was an underachiever in school and was not physically fit, and found his escape in books and telling stories. In a 2006 interview, Horowitz stated "I was quite certain, from my earliest memory, that I would be a professional writer and nothing but." At age 13 he went to Rugby School, a public school, in
Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, its population was 78,117, making it the List of Warwickshire towns by population, secon ...
. He graduated from the
University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...
with a lower second class degree in
English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...
and
art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...
in 1977, where he was in Vanbrugh College. Horowitz's mother introduced him to ''
Frankenstein ''Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' is an 1818 Gothic novel written by English author Mary Shelley. ''Frankenstein'' tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a Sapience, sapient Frankenstein's monster, crea ...
'' and ''
Dracula ''Dracula'' is an 1897 Gothic fiction, Gothic horror fiction, horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker. The narrative is Epistolary novel, related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist and opens ...
''. She gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. Horowitz said in an interview that it reminds him to get to the end of each story since he will soon look like the skull. Horowitz's father was associated with some of the politicians in the "circle" of prime minister
Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx (11 March 1916 – 23 May 1995) was a British statesman and Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, from 1964 to 1970 and again from 197 ...
, including Eric Miller. Facing bankruptcy, he moved his assets into Swiss numbered bank accounts. He died from
cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
when Horowitz was 22, and the family was never able to track down the missing money despite years of trying. This left the family bankrupt, requiring the sale of the large family home.


Literary career


Early literary work (1979–1991)

Anthony Horowitz's first book, ''The Sinister Secret of Frederick K Bower'', was a humorous adventure for children that was published in 1979 and later reissued as ''Enter Frederick K Bower'' in 1985. In 1981 his second novel, ''Misha, the Magician and the Mysterious Amulet'' was published and he moved to Paris to write his third book. In 1983, the first novel in the Pentagram series was released. Entitled ''The Devil's Door-Bell'', the story saw thirteen-year-old Martin Hopkins trying to adjust to a new life with a foster mother on a Yorkshire farm, but it quickly becomes a nightmare when he ends up having to battle an ancient evil that threatens the whole world. Only three of the four remaining novels in the series were ever released: '' The Night of the Scorpion'' (1984), ''The Silver Citadel'' (1986) and ''Day of the Dragon'' (1986). In 1985, he released ''Myths and Legends'', a collection of retold tales from around the world. He was also involved in writing scripts for the cult 1980s television series '' Robin of Sherwood'' and a novelisation, ''The Hooded Man''. In 1988, '' Groosham Grange'' was published. Its central character is a thirteen-year-old "witch", David Eliot, gifted as the
seventh son of a seventh son The seventh son of a seventh son is a concept from folklore regarding special powers given to, or held by, such a son. To qualify as "the seventh son of a seventh son" one must be the seventh male child born in an unbroken line with no female sibli ...
. This book went on to win the 1989 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award. Some similarities have been noted between this book and J K Rowling's later ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' series, but Horowitz did not choose to take action because of this. The most important release of Horowitz's early career was ''
The Falcon's Malteser ''The Diamond Brothers'' is a series of humorous children's detective books by Anthony Horowitz, recounting the adventures of the world's worst private detective, Tim Diamond, and his much more intelligent younger brother, Nick Diamond. The se ...
'' (1986). This book was the first in the successful Diamond Brothers series, and was followed in 1987 by '' Public Enemy Number Two'', and by ''South by South East'' in 1991.


Early children's fiction success (1992–1999)

Horowitz wrote many stand-alone novels in the 1990s. His 1994 novel ''Granny,'' a comedy thriller about an evil grandmother, was Horowitz's first book in three years, and it was the first of three books for an audience similar to that of ''Groosham Grange''. The second of these was ''The Switch'', a body swap story, first published in 1996. The third was 1997's '' The Devil and His Boy'', which is set in the
Elizabethan era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female ...
and explores the rumour of
Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...
's secret son. In 1999, '' The Unholy Grail'' was published as a sequel to ''Groosham Grange''. It was later renamed ''Return to Groosham Grange'' in 2003, possibly to help young readers understand the connection between the two books. In 2021, Horowitz revealed to a fan on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
that he had plans to write a third book, but was dissuaded after the success of the ''
Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...
'' series''.'' In the same year, Horowitz published a collection of several short horror stories aimed for children and young adults, entitled '' Horowitz Horror'' (1999). This was an opportunity for Horowitz to further explore a darker side of his writing. Some time before the new millennium, Horowitz attempted to reach out to an adult audience with a novel called ''Poisoned Pen.'' The novel is based around Martin Holland, who is a childhood friend of a 21st century incarnation of
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. In the novel, William Shakespeare is reimagined as a Hollywood screenwriter who is murdered in a set of circumstances that Martin Holland finds rather odd, despite attempts from a
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
detective to dissuade him. The novel follows Martin's attempts to solve the ever-growing mystery through a series of rather unusual circumstances and a number of people who seem rather glad that Shakespeare was murdered. The novel has never been published in the UK or even in English, but copies in Spanish and Dutch have been released (retitled as ''El asesinato de Shakespeare'' and ''William S.'' respectively). As of June 2021, despite Horowitz's recent successes in adult literature, there are no plans to get the novel republished.


Mainstream children's fiction success (2000–2010)

Horowitz began his most famous and successful series in the new millennium with the '' Alex Rider'' novels. These books are about a 14-year-old boy becoming a spy, a member of the British Secret Service branch MI6. As of 2024, there are eleven books where Alex Rider is the protagonist, and another connected to the Alex Rider series: '' Stormbreaker'' (2000), '' Point Blanc'' (2001), ''
Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...
'' (2002), '' Eagle Strike'' (2003), '' Scorpia'' (2004) '' Ark Angel'' (2005), '' Snakehead'' (2007), '' Crocodile Tears'' (2009), '' Scorpia Rising'' (2011), plus '' Russian Roulette'' (2013). Horowitz had stated that ''Scorpia Rising'' was to be the last book in the Alex Rider series prior to writing ''Russian Roulette'' about the life of Yassen Gregorovich, but he has returned to the series with ''Never Say Die'' (2017), ''Nightshade'' (2020) and ''Nightshade Revenge'' (2023). In 2003, Horowitz also wrote three novellas featuring the Diamond Brothers:
The Blurred Man ''The Diamond Brothers'' is a series of humorous children's detective books by Anthony Horowitz, recounting the adventures of the world's worst private detective, Tim Diamond, and his much more intelligent younger brother, Nick Diamond. The se ...
, '' The French Confection'' and '' I Know What You Did Last Wednesday'', which were republished together as '' Three of Diamonds'' in 2004. The author information page in early editions of '' Scorpia'' and the introduction to '' Three of Diamonds'' claimed that Horowitz had travelled to Australia to research a new Diamond Brothers book, entitled ''Radius of the Lost Shark''. This claim was further backed up when a new Diamond Brothers novella entitled ''The Greek who Stole Christmas!'' was released in 2007, where it is hinted at the end that ''Radius of the Lost Shark'' may turn out to be the eighth entry in the series. However, the next novel in the series was instead called ''Where Seagulls Dare'', and is unrelated to the Australian-based adventure that was previously announced. Horowitz published the first six chapters unedited on his website throughout 2020, and the full, edited novel was published in 2022, with all profits going to support the
NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the term for the publicly funded health care, publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom: the National Health Service (England), NHS Scotland, NHS Wales, and Health and Social Care (Northern ...
. Horowitz also published two sequels to his short horror story collection; '' More Horowitz Horror'' (2000) and ''More Bloody Horowitz'' (2009). Many of the stories in ''Horowitz Horror'' and ''More Horowitz Horror'' were later repackaged in twos or threes as the ''Pocket Horowitz'' series, while ''More Bloody Horowitz'' was later reissued as ''Scared to Death''. One of the short stories in ''More Bloody Horowitz'' is notable for serving as Horowitz's opportunity to get even with fellow author Darren O'Shaughnessy, more commonly known as Darren Shan. In 2008, the pair had gotten into a joke dispute over O'Shaughnessy's use of Horowitz's name for an objectionable character (Antoine Horwitzer) in ''Wolf Island''. In retaliation, Horowitz chose to plot a gruesome literary revenge in the short story ''The Man Who Killed Darren Shan.'' In 2004, Horowitz again attempted to branch out to an adult audience with '' The Killing Joke'', a comedy about a man who tries to track a joke to its source with disastrous consequences. The book was not very successful, and in August 2005, Horowitz returned to young adult fiction by releasing a book called '' Raven's Gate'' which began a second successful series entitled '' The Power of Five'' (''The Gatekeepers'' in the United States). Based heavily on one of his earlier novels entitled ''The Devil's Door-Bell'', each of the first four entries of ''The Power of Five'' subsequently ended up being a rewritten and expanded version of their respective counterpart from the ''Pentagram'' series. The second book in the series, '' Evil Star'' (based on ''The Night of the Scorpion'')'','' was released in April 2006. The third in the series is called '' Nightrise'' (based on ''The Silver Citadel''), and was released on 2 April 2007. The fourth book '' Necropolis'' (based on ''Day of the Dragon'') was released in October 2008. The fifth and final book, the only one not based on an earlier ''Pentagram'' novel, was released in October 2012 and is called '' Oblivion''. Horowitz describes this series as "Alex Rider with devils and witches". In October 2008, Anthony Horowitz's play '' Mindgame'' opened Off Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City. ''Mindgame'' starred Keith Carradine, Lee Godart, and Kathleen McNenny. The production was the New York stage directorial debut for
Ken Russell Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell (3 July 1927 – 27 November 2011) was a British film director, known for his pioneering work in television and film and for his flamboyant and controversial style. His films were mainly liberal adaptations of ...
. In March 2009 he was a guest on '' Private Passions'', the biographical music discussion programme on
BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
.


Continued success (2011–present)

On 19 January 2011, the estate of
Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Hol ...
announced that Horowitz was to be the writer of a new Sherlock Holmes novel, the first such effort to receive an official endorsement from them and to be entitled '' The House of Silk''. It was both published, in November of 2011 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. A follow-up novel, '' Moriarty'', was published in 2014. In October 2014, the estate of
Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...
commissioned Horowitz to write a
James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
novel, '' Trigger Mortis'', which was released in 2015. It was followed by a second novel, ''
Forever Forever or 4ever may refer to: Film and television Films * ''Forever'' (1921 film), an American silent film by George Fitzmaurice * ''Forever'' (1978 film), an American made-for-television romantic drama, based on the novel by Judy Blume * '' ...
'' '' and A Day'', which came out on 31 May 2018. A third novel entitled ''With a Mind to Kill'' was released on 17 May 2022. Horowitz is the only author in recent years to have been invited by Ian Fleming Publications to write successive, official James Bond novels. In 2016, Horowitz's adult novel '' Magpie Murders'' was published. Having previously spoken about the book in 2005, it was initially described as being about "a whodunit writer who is murdered while he's writing his latest whodunit". Horowitz finally finished it in late 2015, and it was published in October 2016. A follow-up novel, '' Moonflower Murders'', was released in 2020. A third and final novel in the series, Marble Hall Murders is expected to be released in April 2025. In 2017, Horowitz began a new series of detective novels which includes himself as a novelist enlisted by an out-of-work detective called Hawthorne to write books about the way Hawthorne solves crimes. The fictional Horowitz accompanies Hawthorne as he investigates murders committed in London and other locations. So far, starting with ''The Word is Murder'', five of these books have appeared, with three others commissioned. In 2011, Horowitz tweeted that he had plans to write a new trilogy for the same demographic as his ''Alex Rider'' and ''Power of Five'' books, but that it's still "a secret". During 2012 and 2013, Horowitz tweeted out some more information regarding the series, where he stated that it will be "a completely new genre" from anything else he'd done so far, and that it will have a contemporary setting in modern-day London with a 15-year-old protagonist. He also revealed that it's tentatively entitled ''The Machine''. However, Horowitz revealed in 2021 that he has yet to begin writing this series and that he has no immediate plans to do so.


Film and television career


Film

Horowitz wrote the screenplay for '' Just Ask for Diamond'', a 1989 film adaptation of his ''Diamond Brothers'' novel ''The Falcon's Malteser'' that had an all-star cast which included Bill Paterson,
Jimmy Nail James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show ''Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' ( ...
,
Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', Algernon in The Be ...
, Susannah York, Michael Robbins and
Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge (born 29 September 1946) is an English actress. She is known on-screen for playing Phyllida Erskine-Brown in '' Rumpole of the Bailey'' (1978–1992), Jemima Shore in '' Jemima Shore Investigates'' (1983), Penny in '' Miranda ...
, and featured Colin Dale and Dursley McLinden as Nick and Tim Diamond respectively. Horowitz is the writer of a feature film screenplay, '' The Gathering'', which was released in 2003 and starred Christina Ricci. He wrote the screenplay for Alex Rider's first major motion picture, '' Stormbreaker''.


Television

Horowitz began writing for television in the 1980s, contributing to the children's anthology series '' Dramarama'', and also writing five episodes of the third season for the popular fantasy series '' Robin of Sherwood''. He also novelised three of Carpenter's episodes as a children's book under the title ''Robin of Sherwood: The Hooded Man'' (1986). In addition, he created ''
Crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an Elasticity (physics), elastic launching device consisting of a Bow and arrow, bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar f ...
'' (1987), a half-hour action adventure series loosely based on William Tell. This era in Horowitz's career also saw the release of ''Adventurer'' (1987), a thriller about a convict stuck on a prisoner ship with his sworn enemy based on the Richard Carpenter series, and '' Starting Out'' (1990), a collection of screenplays by the author himself, published. His association with murder mysteries began with the adaptation of several Hercule Poirot stories for ITV's popular '' Agatha Christie's Poirot'' series during the 1990s. Often his work has a comic edge, such as with the comic murder anthology '' Murder Most Horrid'' (BBC Two, 1991) and the comedy-drama ''The Last Englishman'' (1995), starring Jim Broadbent. In 1991, '' The Diamond Brothers'', a six-part television series written and directed by Horowitz himself, was broadcast on ITV. The series is based on the book ''South by South East'', which Horowitz claimed he wrote after he had written the television series, effectively making ''South by South East'' a novelisation of the television series rather than the novel acting as the primary source of inspiration. Both McLinden and Dale reprised their respective film roles, which makes the television series act as a sequel to ''Just Ask for Diamond''. From 1997, he wrote the majority of the episodes in the early series of ''
Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...
''. In 2001, he created a drama anthology series of his own for the BBC, ''Murder in Mind'', an occasional series which deals with a different set of characters and a different murder every one-hour episode. He also created two short-lived science-fiction shows, '' Crime Traveller'' (1997) for BBC One and ''The Vanishing Man'' (pilot 1996, series 1998) for ITV. While ''Crime Traveller'' received favourable viewing figures it was not renewed for a second season, which Horowitz accounts to temporary personnel transitioning within the BBC. In 2002, Horowitz created the series '' Foyle's War'', a historically-themed detective series set during and after the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The series became the longest-running among Horowitz's television projects, with a total of 28 episodes broadcast over eight series between 2002 and 2015. Horowitz devised the 2009 ITV crime drama '' Collision'' and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael A. Walker. Horowitz adapted his novel '' Magpie Murders'' into a television miniseries, which aired on
BritBox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...
and later
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
in the UK and on the PBS series ''Masterpiece Mystery!'' in the US. Filming commenced on the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
in the spring of 2024 on his television series '' Nine Bodies in a Mexican Morgue''.


Personal life

Horowitz lives in Central London (
Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...
) with his wife Jill Green; they eloped to be married in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
on 15 April 1988. Green produced ''Foyle's War'', the series Horowitz wrote for ITV, and other television shows he has written. They have two sons. Horowitz credits his family with much of his success in writing, as he says they help him with ideas and research. He is a patron of family support charity Home-Start in Suffolk and child protection charity Kidscape. Politically, Horowitz has described himself to be "vaguely
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
". Ahead of the
2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, to elect 650 Members of Parliament (or MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The first to be held after the minimum age for candidates was ...
, Horowitz stated he would vote for the Conservative Party in response to the policies of the governing Labour Party, but "with little enthusiasm." In 2017, Horowitz expressed criticism of the notion of
cultural appropriation Cultural appropriation is the adoption of an element or elements of one culture or cultural identity, identity by members of another culture or identity in a manner perceived as inappropriate or unacknowledged. Such a controversy typically ari ...
after a publisher had allegedly tried to dissuade him from creating a black character as a central figure in one of his novels, and supported fellow author Lionel Shriver's critiques on the same issue. He also criticised the social phenomenon of
cancel culture Cancel culture is a cultural phenomenon in which an individual thought to have acted or spoken in an unacceptable manner is ostracized, boycotted, shunned or fired, often aided by social media. This shunning may extend to social or professio ...
and "mobbing" of figures for expressing diverse opinions, stating, "There is a rigidity in the way we have begun to think and speak. If we step outside certain lines on certain issues, we find not just people disagreeing, but disagreeing to the extent of death threats. When somebody says something untoward in the press, and I am not saying this about myself, people don't just say that was a stupid thing to say. They say, ''Lose your job.'' They want you to never ever have an income again."


Honours and awards

Horowitz was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the 2014 New Year Honours and
Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours, both for services to literature. He won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television Episode Teleplay from Episode 1 of Magpie Murders. In 2003, he won Hampshire Book Award for the book,
Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...
, part of Alex Rider, whilst getting a nomination in 2007. He has also won Lancashire Book of the Year in 2006. For Foyle's War, there was a
BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
Lew Grade Award in 2003 with an additional two nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Production Design won, and he got nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2016 for the episode: Elise, The Final Mystery. In 2005, Anthony Horowitz, for Stormbreaker, received a California Young Reader Medal, Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (2004), Utah Beehive Award (2004), Wisconsin Golden Archer Award (2003), California Young Reader Medal (2005), Iowa Teen Award (2005), South Carolina Junior Book Award (2005).


Bibliography


Young adult novels


'' Alex Rider'' series

# '' Stormbreaker'' (2000) # '' Point Blanc'' (2001; US title: '' Point Blank'') # ''
Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...
'' (2002) # '' Eagle Strike'' (2003) # '' Scorpia'' (2004) # '' Ark Angel'' (2005) # '' Snakehead'' (2007) # '' Crocodile Tears'' (2009) # '' Scorpia Rising'' (2011) # '' Russian Roulette'' (2013) # '' Never Say Die'' (2017) # ''
Nightshade Solanaceae (), commonly known as the nightshades, is a family of flowering plants in the order Solanales. It contains approximately 2,700 species, several of which are used as agricultural crops, medicinal plants, and ornamental plants. Many me ...
'' (2020) # '' Nightshade Revenge'' (2023)


Short story collections

#''Alex Rider: Secret Weapon'' (2019) #''Alex Rider: Undercover'' (2020)


Related works

#''Alex Rider: The Gadgets'' (2005) #''Alex Rider: Mission Files'' (2008)


'' The Power of Five (The Gatekeepers)'' series

#'' Raven's Gate'' (2005) #'' Evil Star'' (2006) #'' Nightrise'' (2007) #'' Necropolis'' (2008) #'' Oblivion'' (2012)


Children's novels


'' Diamond Brothers'' series

#''
The Falcon's Malteser ''The Diamond Brothers'' is a series of humorous children's detective books by Anthony Horowitz, recounting the adventures of the world's worst private detective, Tim Diamond, and his much more intelligent younger brother, Nick Diamond. The se ...
'' (1986) #'' Public Enemy Number Two'' (1987) #'' South By South East'' (1991) #''
The Blurred Man ''The Diamond Brothers'' is a series of humorous children's detective books by Anthony Horowitz, recounting the adventures of the world's worst private detective, Tim Diamond, and his much more intelligent younger brother, Nick Diamond. The se ...
'' (2003) #'' I Know What You Did Last Wednesday'' (2003) #'' The French Confection'' (2003) #'' The Greek Who Stole Christmas'' (2007) #'' Where Seagulls Dare'' (2022)


Short stories

#'' The Double Eagle Has Landed'' (2011; published in ''Guys Read: Thriller'')


''Horowitz Horror'' series

#'' Horowitz Horror'' (1999) #'' More Horowitz Horror'' (2001) #''More Bloody Horowitz'' (2009; retitled as ''Bloody Horowitz'' in the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
)


''Legends'' series

#''Beasts and Monsters'' (2010) #''Battles and Quests'' (2010) #''Death and the Underworld'' (2011) #''Heroes and Villains'' (2011) #''The Wrath of the Gods'' (2012) #''Tricks and Transformations'' (2012)


''Groosham Grange'' series

#'' Groosham Grange'' (1988) #'' The Unholy Grail'' (1999; later reissued as '' Return to Groosham Grange'')


''Pentagram'' series

#''The Devil's Door-Bell'' (1983) #'' The Night of the Scorpion'' (1985) #''The Silver Citadel'' (1986) #''Day of the Dragon'' (1989)


Standalone children's novels

#''The Sinister Secret of Frederick K. Bower'' (1979; reissued in 1985 as ''Enter Frederick K. Bower'') #''Misha, the Magician and the Mysterious Amulet'' (1981) #''Granny'' (1994) #''The Switch'' (1996) #'' The Devil and His Boy'' (1998)


Other children's novels

#''Robin of Sherwood: The Hooded Man'' (1986; with Richard Carpenter) #''Adventurer'' (1987) #''New Adventures of William Tell'' (1989) #''Starting Out'' (1990)


Children's collections

#''Myths and Legends'' (1985) #''The Kingfisher Book of Myths and Legends'' (2003) #'' Three of Diamonds'' (2004) #'' Four of Diamonds'' (2008) #''The Complete Horowitz Horror'' (2008) #''Midnight Feast'' (2011; with Meg Cabot, Eoin Colfer,
Garth Nix Garth Richard Nix (born 19 July 1963) is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the ''The Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom'', ''The Seventh Tower, Seventh Tower'' and ''The Keys to the Kingdom, Keys t ...
, Louise Rennison and
Darren Shan Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972) is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series '' The Saga of Darren Shan'', '' The Demonata'', and '' Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The forme ...
) #''RED'' (2012; with Cecelia Ahern, Rachel Cusk, Emma Donoghue, Max Hastings, Victoria Hislop, Hanif Kureishi, Andrew Motion and
Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English writer, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Se ...
) #''Groosham Grange: Two Books in One!'' (2011)


Anthologies (edited)

#''The Puffin Book of Horror Stories'' (1994; reissued as ''Death Walks Tonight'' in 1995)


Graphic novels


'' The Power of Five graphic novels''

#'' The Power of Five 1: Raven's Gate'' (2010) #''The Power of Five 2: Evil Star'' (2014) #''The Power of Five 3: Nightrise'' (2014)


'' Alex Rider'' graphic novels

#'' Alex Rider: Stormbreaker'' #''Alex Rider: Point Blanc'' #''Alex Rider:
Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master keying, master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous Lock and key, locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from th ...
'' #''Alex Rider: Eagle Strike'' #''Alex Rider: Scorpia'' #''Alex Rider: Ark Angel''


Edge: Horowitz Graphic Horror

#''The Phone Goes Dead'' (2010) #''Scared'' (2010) #''Killer Camera'' (2010) #''The Hitchhiker'' (2010)


Adult novels


Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes () is a Detective fiction, fictional detective created by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "Private investigator, consulting detective" in his stories, Holmes is known for his proficiency with obser ...
novels

#'' The House of Silk'' (2011) #'' Moriarty'' (2014)


=Short stories

= #''The Three Monarchs'' (2014;
eBook An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. A ...
) #''The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards'' (2020; published in three parts in the ''
Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'', December 21–23)


James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...
novels

#'' Trigger Mortis'' (2015) #'' Forever and a Day'' (2018) #'' With a Mind to Kill'' (2022)


Susan Ryeland series

#'' Magpie Murders'' (2016) #'' Moonflower Murders'' (2020) #''Marble Hall Murders'' (2025)


Hawthorne and Horowitz series

#'' The Word Is Murder'' (2017) #'' The Sentence Is Death'' (2019) #'' A Line to Kill'' (2021) #'' The Twist of a Knife'' (2022) #'' Close to Death'' (2024)


Standalone adult novels

* ''Poisoned Pen'' (2002; never published in the UK but released as ''El asesinato de Shakespeare'' in Spanish and ''William S.'' in Dutch) * '' The Killing Joke'' (2004)


Novellas

* ''Vermeer to Eternity'' (2015; Kindle single)


Filmography

Film writer * '' Just Ask for Diamond'' (1988) * '' The Gathering'' (2003) * '' Stormbreaker'' (2006) (Also executive producer) TV series Miniseries


Theatre


References


External links

* * *
Profile
at publisher
Walker Books Walker Books is a British publisher of children's books, founded in 1978 by Sebastian Walker, Amelia Edwards, and Wendy Boase. In 1991, the success of Walker Books' ''Where's Wally?'' series enabled the company to expand into the American ma ...

Audio interview regarding Snakehead novel
*

on Eurochannel {{DEFAULTSORT:Horowitz, Anthony 1955 births Living people 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Alumni of the University of York Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Cozy mystery writers English children's writers English horror writers Jewish English writers English male novelists English male screenwriters English male television writers English television writers People educated at Rugby School People from Stanmore British television show creators Writers of Sherlock Holmes pastiches