Joe Craig (born 31 December 1981 in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

. He is best known for the

Jimmy Coates ''Jimmy Coates'' is a series of children's books written by the English author Joe Craig. The books have been published in many countries around the world and will be widely available in the United States for the first time in 2013. The books ar ...

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. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

neighbourhood of north London. His mother is a poet and his two sisters are also writers. He studied

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

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 mon ...

, where he wrote and composed music for the

Cambridge Footlights Cambridge University Footlights Dramatic Club, commonly referred to simply as the Footlights, is an amateur theatrical club in Cambridge, England, founded in 1883 and run by the students of Cambridge University. History Footlights' inaugural ...

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 frequently ...

). 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 person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces, hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. Nowadays, it is common for ...

Mary-Ann Ochota Mary-Ann Ochota ( ''O-hot-ah''; born 8 May 1981) is a British broadcaster and anthropologist specialising in anthropology, archaeology, social history and adventure factual television. Biography Ochota was born and grew up in Wincham, Northwic ...

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 north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisati ...

, London. Craig played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

for the Authors XI team of British writers during the 2012-13 season.

Books

* ''Jimmy Coates: Killer'',

HarperCollins Children's Books HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Corp ...

, March 2005, (Released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

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 London Musicians from London English male writers