Jonathan Stroud

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	Photo: © Rolf Marriott

Biography

Jonathan Stroud was born in Bedford in 1970 and grew up in Bedford and St Albans. He studied English Literature at York University and worked as an editor at Walker Books and Kingfisher Publications in London. His first book was World Puzzles (1994) and he is the author of several picture books including The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood (1996) and The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard (1997). His first novel, Buried Fire, was published in 1999 - the first in a line of children's fantasy books. In 2001 he became a full-time writer.

He has also edited non-fiction books for children, including The Kingfisher Children's Bible (2001), and The Kingfisher Book of Evolution (2000).

His popular Bartimaeus Trilogy, comprising of The Amulet of Samarkand (2003); The Golem's Eye (2004); and Ptolemy's Gate (2005) has won several awards, and the first book in the series is currently being made into a film.

Jonathan Stroud lives in Hertfordshire. His latest novel is Heroes of the Valley (2009).

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Genres (in alphabetical order)

Children

Bibliography

World Puzzles   (illustrated by Caroline Holden)   Walker, 1994

The Lost Treasure of Captain Blood   (illustrated by Cathy Gle)   Walker, 1996

The Viking Saga of Harri Bristlebeard   (illustrated by Cathy Gale)   Walker, 1997

Alfie's Big Adventure   (illustrated by Sally Chambers)   Early Learning Centre, 1999

Buried Fire   Bodley Head, 1999

The Little Red Car   (illustrated by Derek Matthews)   Walker, 1999

Sightseers: Ancient Rome   Kingfisher, 2000

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Puzzle Storybook   (illustrated by Andy Cooke)   Early Learning Centre, 2000

Little Spike and Long Tail   (illustrated by Stephen Holmes)   Early Learning Centre, 2000

The Leap   Red Fox, 2001

The Last Siege   Doubleday, 2003

The Amulet of Samarkand   Doubleday, 2003

The Golem's Eye   Corgi, 2004

Ptolemy's Gate   Doubleday, 2005

Heroes of the Valley   Doubleday, 2009

Read about books by Jonathan Stroud at encompassculture.com - the British Council's book database and global online book club

Buy books by Jonathan Stroud at Amazon.co.uk

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Prizes and awards

2004   Boston Globe-Horn Book Award (USA)   The Amulet of Samarkand

2005   Lancashire County Library Children's Book of the Year Award   The Amulet of Samarkand

2006   Corine Internationaler Buchpreis (Germany)   (Youth Book)   Bartimaeus Trilogy

2006   Cybil Award   (Fantasy and Science Fiction)   Ptolemy's Gate

2006   Grand Prix de l'imaginaire (France)   (Fantasy and Science Fiction (Youth Book))   Bartimaeus Trilogy

2006   Mythopoeic Fantasy Award   Bartimaeus Trilogy

2006   Quill Book Award (USA)   (shortlist)   Ptolemy's Gate

2007   Children's Book Award (Austria)   (Jury of Young Readers)   Bartimaeus Trilogy

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Author statement

My guiding principle when writing is to create something that I, as a reader, would love to discover on a shelf. My earliest books were playful mixtures of puzzles and comic strips, both of which I devoured as a child. In my fiction I gravitate towards the fantastical (which was my favourite genre when young) but only when balanced by some element of realism: I distrust fantasies that loop off into escapist whimsy. In the Bartimaeus trilogy the djinni Bartimaeus is in perpetual conflict with the young politician/magician Nathaniel. The narrative switches between the sober, downbeat political perspective and the effervescent, mercurial magical one - neither side achieves dominance. In The Leap (2001) the audience must decide whether the extraordinary events that unfold are real or created by the heroine's imagination; in The Last Siege (2003), the fantasy is overtly contained within the mind of one of the characters. Heroes of the Valley (2009) deals in part with the power that stories can exert over society as a whole. I think it's important that in the midst of fantasy there are echoes of contemporary concerns.

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Contact information

Publisher (General enquiries) Random House Children's Books c/o Transworld Publishers 61-63 Uxbridge Road London  W5 5SA England Tel: +44 (0)20 8579 2652 Fax: +44 (0)20 8579 5479 E-mail: info@transworld-publishers.co.uk http://www.booksattransworld.co.uk

Agent Laura Cecil Literary Agency 17 Alwyne Villas London  N1 2HG England Fax: +44 (0)20 7354 3852 E-mail: info@lauracecil.co.uk http://www.lauracecil.co.uk

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Related links

http:/ / www.jonathanstroud.com

http:/ / www.bartimaeus.com

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