Joe Craig (born 1980 or 1981)
[ is an English children's ]novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
and musician
A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...
.
He is best known for the Jimmy Coates series of books.
Early life and education
Craig was born and grew up in the Finchley
Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon.
It is ...
neighbourhood of north London. His mother is a poet and his two sisters are also writers.philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
at Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...
, where he wrote and composed music for the Cambridge Footlights
The Cambridge Footlights, commonly referred to simply as Footlights, is a student sketch comedy troupe located in Cambridge, England. Footlights was founded in 1883, and is one of Britain's oldest student sketch comedy troupes. The comedy so ...
.
Career
In 2002, he provided the score for the musical theatre production ''Told You So: A Musical Hijacking of Aesop's Fables'' (book and lyrics by John Finnemore
John David Finnemore (born 28 September 1977) is a British comedy writer and actor. He wrote and performed in the radio series '' Cabin Pressure'', '' John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme'', and '' John Finnemore's Double Acts'', and frequent ...
).
His first children's book, '' Jimmy Coates: Killer'', was published in 2005. He described the plot as being about "a boy on the run from the secret service, battling Britain’s dictatorship, while resisting his own genetic programming that gives him the instincts and abilities of an assassin".[ He followed it with six more ''Jimmy Coates'' books, and as of 2017, the series had sold over 250,000 copies and been translated into twelve languages.][
He regularly performs school visits to encourage reading and promote his books. In 2015, he told ''The Bookseller'' that schools were becoming more reluctant to pay authors for visits, but he maintained that authors should never do them for free. He said that author visits show children that the world of books is "full of life, passion and thrills...My aim with every school event I do is to make my visit the single most memorable event in the school life of every student in the room".
In 2010, Craig released an album of songs which he wrote and performed himself: ''The Songman & Me, Vol. 1''.
]
Personal life
He met anthropologist
An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
and television presenter
A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...
Mary-Ann Ochota when they attended Cambridge University together; they began dating in 2000 and eventually married. Their son, Cole, was born in July 2018. They live in Highgate
Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...
, London.[
Craig played ]cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
for the Authors XI team of British writers during the 2012-13 season.
Books
* ''Jimmy Coates: Killer'', HarperCollins Children's Books, March 2005,
(Released 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 ...
under the title ''Jimmy Coates: Assassin''.)
* ''Jimmy Coates: Target'', HarperCollins Children's Books, May 2006,
* ''Jimmy Coates: Revenge'', HarperCollins Children's Books, January 2007,
* ''Jimmy Coates: Sabotage'', HarperCollins Children's Books, October 2007,
* ''Jimmy Coates: Survival'', HarperCollins Children's Books, April 2008,
* ''Jimmy Coates: Power'', HarperCollins Children's Books, October 2008,
* ''Jimmy Coates: Blackout'', HarperCollins Children's Books, June 2013,
* ''Lifters'', Franklin Watts, September 2011,
* ''World of Robots: Jango'', Rising Stars, February 2019,
* ''World of Robots: Wild'', Rising Stars, February 2019,
* ''World of Robots: Breakdown'', Rising Stars, February 2019,
* ''World of Robots: Hijack'', Rising Stars, February 2019,
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
Discography
References
External links
Joe Craig's Official Website
Official Jimmy Coates Website
Joe Craig's Blog
HarperCollins Children's Books - Joe Craig
Joe Craig's music page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Joe
1981 births
Living people
English children's writers
Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
People educated at University College School
Writers from the London Borough of Barnet
Musicians from the London Borough of Barnet
English male writers
People from Finchley