John Farndon (born 1960) is a British writer of books, plays and music. He is best known as a writer of, and contributor to, science books for children.

Biography

Farndon studied Earth sciences and English literature at Jesus College, Cambridge University.Daily Telegraph, 13 Oct 2014 ''Oxbridge interview questions: are you clever enough?'' By Sarah Oliver
/ref> He is a Fellow of the 'Royal Literary Fund' at

Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university in East Anglia, United Kingdom. Its origins are in the Cambridge School of Art, founded by William John Beamont in 1858. It became a university in 1992, and was renamed after John Ruskin in ...

(Cambridge). Farndon was described by the

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its long ...

as ''"a writer of non-fiction books, and a playwright, lyricist, composer and literary translator. Spurred by intense intellectual curiosity, his interests range widely and he writes on topics from chemistry to China"''. In 2014 the

Daily Telegraph Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

reviewed Farndon's book for 'would be' Oxbridge students, ''Do You Still Think You’re Clever?'', where he explains how to tackle the toughest “unanswerable” question and win a university place. According to the Royal Literary Fund, Farndon has been shortlisted a record four times for the junior Science Book prize.

Publications

His titles include: * ''How the Earth Works'' (1993),

Dorling Kindersley Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...

(26 Aug. 1999) . Shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc Prizes for Science Books - Junior Prize * ''What Happens When?'' (1 November 1996),

Scholastic Corporation Scholastic Corporation () is an American multinational publishing, education, and media company that publishes and distributes books, comics, and educational materials for schools, parents, and children. Products are distributed via retail and on ...

, . Shortlisted for the Rhone-Poulenc Prizes for Science Books - Junior Prize * ''Pocket Encyclopedia'', (1997),

* ''The Kingfisher First Animal Encyclopedia'' (15 Sept 1998), Contributor, Published by Kingfisher Publications, * ''1000 Things You Should Know About Geography'', (1 Aug 2000),

Miles Kelly Publishing Miles Kelly Publishing is an independent children's publishing company founded by Jim Miles and Gerard Kelly in 1996. It is based in the village of Bardfield End Green near Thaxted in Essex, UK, after moving from its base of 13 years in Grea ...

* ''Investigate: Human Body'', (2000),

Parragon Parragon Books Ltd, a United Kingdom publishing company, was formed in 1988 by friends Guy Parr and Paul Anderson. In 2001, it became part of D. C. Thomson & Co. History Parragon began its early years by developing business through overstocks ...

Plus, * ''4000 Things You Should Know'', (27 May 2000),

, * ''Childrens Encyclopedia'', (3 July 2000), HarperCollinsChildren'sBooks * ''4000 More Things You Should Know'', (10 Mar 2001),

, * ''The Complete Book of the Brain'' (18 May 2000),

Hodder Wayland Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

, . Short listed for the ' Aventis Prizes for Science Books - Junior Prize'. * ''Big Book of the Brain'', (May 18, 2000),

* ''Science Experiment series''; (2001; 2002; 2003), published by Benchmark Publications ** ''Color''; ** ''Electricity''; ** ''Light and Optics''; ** ''Sound and Hearing''; ** ''Water''; ** ''Gravity'', ** ''Weight and Balance''; ** ''Flight''; Awarded the 'Best Books for Children' & 'Editors' Choice' by

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

- 'AAAS Science, Books and Films' (2002) ** ''The Human Body''; Awarded the 'Best Books for Children' by

- 'AAAS Science, Books and Films' (2002) ** ''Levers, Wheels, and Pulleys''; ** ''Magnetism''; ** ''Solids, Liquids, and Gases''; ** ''Chemicals''; ** ''Motion''; ** ''Rocks and Minerals''; ** ''Time''; ** ''Buoyancy'' * ''The Big Book of Knowledge'', (Jan 2002), co-authored with Angela Koo,

, * ''1000 Facts on Human Body'', (2 Apr 2002),

, * ''1000 Things You Should Know About World Geography'' (1 May 2005),

, * ''Space'' (2005) * ''Bird Flu, Everything You Should Know'', (2005) published by

The Disinformation Company The Disinformation Company (abbreviated as Disinfo) was a privately held company, privately held, private company limited by shares, limited American publishing company until 2012 when it was sold to Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari. It also owned ''Disinf ...

,Disinformation (company) Google Books, 2005, ''Bird Flu'' by John Farndon
/ref> * ''Science Investigations: Electricity'', (7 September 2006)

. Shortlisted for Royal Society / Committee on Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS) Science Book prize.John Farndon, Awards
/ref> * '' Do Not Open: An encyclopedia of the world's best-kept secrets'' (October 25, 2007) published by

* ''Great Scientists: from Euclid to Stephen Hawking'', (2007), * ''The Complete Guide to Minerals, Rocks and Fossils of the World'', (1 Jun 2009), Co-author with Steve Parker,

Lorenz Educational Press Lorenz Educational Press is an educational publisher based in Dayton, Ohio. The company focuses on educational materials for the K–12 market, including language arts, math, science, social studies, critical thinking, team building, movement and ...

, * ''The World's Greatest Idea'', (2010), Icon Books, * ''Do You Think You're Clever?: The Oxford and Cambridge Questions'', (3 Jun 2010), Co-author with

Libby Purves Elizabeth Mary Purves, (born 2 February 1950) is a British radio presenter, journalist and author. Early life and career Born in London, a diplomat's daughter, Purves was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and educated at convent school ...

. Icon Books, . Short-listed for the ' Society of Authors Education Award'. * ''The Story of Science and Technology (A Journey Through History)'', (15 August 2010), Published by

Rosen Publishing The Rosen Publishing Group is an American publisher for educational books for readers from ages pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. It was founded in 1950 under the name "Richards Rosen Press" and is located in New York City. The company changed i ...

, * ''What do We Know About Stars and Galaxies'', (1 Aug 2011), Raintree Publishing, SBN13 9781410941862 * ''Atlas of Oceans'', on endangered life in the oceans. (2011) Published by

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

in the USA,

A & C Black A & C Black is a British book publishing company, owned since 2002 by Bloomsbury Publishing. The company is noted for publishing '' Who's Who'' since 1849. It also published popular travel guides and novels. History The firm was founded in 18 ...

in the UK,

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclop ...

in Australia. Listed by ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' (Canada) as a 2011 top ten science book. * ''Atlas of Oceans: An Ecological Survey of Underwater Life'', (22 Feb 2011),

, * ''Atlas of Oceans: A Fascinating Hidden World'', (15 Mar 2011), Thomas Reed Publications, * ''Oil'', (January 16, 2012),

, * ''Discover the Extreme World'' (2012), Camilla de la Bedoyere, Clive Gifford, John Farndon, Steve Parker, Stewart Ross and Philip Steele,

, . Sh* ''Atlas of Oceans'', on endangered life in the oceans. Published by

in the USA,

in the UK,

in Australia. Listed by ''

'' (Canada) as a 2011 top ten science book. Shortlisted for the

Blue Peter Book Award The Blue Peter Book Awards were a set of literary awards for children's books conferred by the BBC television programme '' Blue Peter''. They were inaugurated in 2000 for books published in 1999. The Awards have been managed by reading charity, ...

for the 'Best Book with Facts'. * ''Super Bright Baby: 50 Things You Really Need to Know'', (7 November 2013),

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

, * ''Do You Still Think You're Clever?: The Oxford and Cambridge Questions'', (6 Nov 2014), Icon Books, * ''Do You Still Think You're Clever?: Even More Oxford and Cambridge Questions!'', (Feb 17, 2015) Icon Books, * ''The Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia: Bugs & Minibeasts: Beetles, Bugs, Butterflies, Moths, Insects, Spiders'', (April 7, 2015) contributory author with Barbara Taylor and Jen Green * ''Stuff You Need to Know'', (30 July 2015), co-author with Rob Beattie, Firefly Books, * ''Project Body'' (1 Aug 2015),

Toy edition, . Short listed for 2016 Royal Society's young people's prize.The Guardian, 19 May 2016, Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize shortlist 2016 - in pictures
/ref> * ''Stuff You Should Know'', (15 Oct. 2015) QED Publishing, * ''The Illustrated Guide to Rocks & Minerals: How to Find, Identify and Collect the World’s Most Fascinating Specimens,'' (15 October 2015), Southwater; * ''So, You Think You're Clever?'' (10 May 2016), Icon Books, * ''The Omnipaedia: Learn Everything you Need to in a Year'' (1 Dec 2016), Square Peg Publishing,

Awards

Books

* Royal Society/Committee on Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS) - Science Book prize shortlist: ''How the Earth Works'' * Royal Society/Committee on Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS) - Science Book prize shortlist: ''What Happens When'' * Royal Society/Committee on Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS) - Science Book prize shortlist: ''Investigations: Electricity'' * Royal Society/Committee on Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS) - Science Book prize shortlist: ''Big Book of the Brain'' * Royal Society/Committee on Public Understanding of Science (CoPUS) - Science Book prize shortlist - 2016: ''Project Body''The Guardian 21 Nov 2016 Royal Society's young people's prize. John Farndon shortlisted
/ref>

Plays

Academia Rossica Academia Rossica (London/Moscow) is a cultural organisation set up in 2000 to promote and strengthen cultural and intellectual ties between Russia and the West, pioneering intercultural projects and bringing the best of contemporary Russian culture ...

Russian translation prize shortlist: ''The Naked Guest'' plus ''Pushkin poems''

Notes and references

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farndon, John 1960 births Living people British science journalists English male journalists English science writers English children's writers Children's non-fiction writers