Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) 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 ...

novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''

The Diamond Brothers ''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 s ...

'' series, the ''

Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...

'' series, and ''

The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...

'' series (known in the U.S. as ''The Gatekeepers''). His work for adults includes the play '' Mindgame'' (2001); two Sherlock Holmes novels, '' The House of Silk'' (2011) and '' Moriarty'' (2014); two novels featuring his own detective Atticus Pünd, '' Magpie Murders'' (2016) and '' Moonflower Murders'' (2020); and four novels featuring a fictionalised-version of himself as a companion and chronicler to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne, ''

The Word Is Murder ''The Word Is Murder'' is a 2017 mystery novel by British author Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adul ...

'' (2017), ''

The Sentence Is Death ''The Sentence Is Death'' is a 2019 mystery novel by British author Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young ...

'' (2018), ''A Line to Kill'' (2021), and ''The Twist of a Knife'' (2022). The Estate of

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

creator Ian Fleming also chose Horowitz to write Bond novels utilizing unpublished material by Fleming, starting with ''

Trigger Mortis ''Trigger Mortis'' is a 2015 James Bond novel written by Anthony Horowitz, and commissioned by the estate of Bond's creator Ian Fleming, which was published on 8 September 2015. Plot The book is set in 1957 against the backdrop of the Space ...

'' in 2015, followed by '' Forever and a Day'' in 2018, and a third and final novel ''With a Mind to Kill'' in May 2022. He has also written for television, contributing scripts to

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's ''

Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...

'' and '' Midsomer Murders''. He was the creator and writer of the

series ''

Foyle's War ''Foyle's War'' is a British detective drama television series set during and shortly after the Second World War, created by '' Midsomer Murders'' screenwriter and author Anthony Horowitz and commissioned by ITV after the long-running series ...

'', ''

Collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great fo ...

'' 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 n ...

'' and the BBC series '' New Blood''.

Background and personal life

Horowitz was born in Stanmore,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

, into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, and in his early years lived an

upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

lifestyle. An overweight and unhappy child, Horowitz enjoyed reading books from his father's library. 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 started writing at the age of 8 or 9 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 Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

, a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

. Horowitz's mother introduced him to ''Frankenstein'' and ''Dracula''. She also 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. He graduated from the University of York with a lower second class degree in English literature and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

in 1977, where he was in

Vanbrugh College Vanbrugh College is one of the eleven colleges of the University of York. History It was opened in 1967 and is named after Sir John Vanbrugh, designer of Castle Howard. In 2013 'Green Vanbrugh' was established. This group was created to incr ...

. Horowitz's father was associated with some of the politicians in the "circle" of prime minister Harold Wilson, including

Eric Miller Eric, Erik, or Erick Miller may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Eric Miller (record producer) (c. 1941–2017), American record producer and Norman Granz's protégé *Eric Miller (photographer) (born 1951), South African photographer during and ...

. Facing bankruptcy, he moved his assets into Swiss numbered bank accounts. He died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

when Horowitz was 22, and the family was never able to track down the missing money despite years of trying. Horowitz now lives in Central London with his wife Jill Green, whom he married in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

on 15 April 1988. Green produced ''Foyle's War'', the series Horowitz wrote for

. They have two sons. He 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 Kidscape is a London-based charity established in 1985, by child psychologist Michele Elliott. Its focus is on children's safety, with an emphasis on the prevention of harm by equipping children with techniques and mindsets that help them stay ...

. Politically, he considers himself to be "vaguely conservative". Ahead of the 2010 United Kingdom general election, Horowitz stated he would vote for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in response to the then policies of the governing Labour Party but "with little enthusiasm." In 2017, Horowitz expressed criticism of the notion of cultural appropriation 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 Lionel Shriver (born Margaret Ann Shriver; May 18, 1957) is an American author and journalist who lives in the United Kingdom. Her novel '' We Need to Talk About Kevin'' won the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2005. Early life and education Shriver ...

's critiques on the same issue. He also criticised the social phenomenon of cancel culture 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." Horowitz was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the

2014 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2014 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

and

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

2022 New Year Honours The 2022 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

, both for services to literature.

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. In 1988, ''

Groosham Grange ''Groosham Grange'' is a 1988 fantasy novel by English author Anthony Horowitz and the first novel in the ''Groosham Grange'' series. It follows the adventures of twelve-year-old David Eliot, who gets sent to a mysterious school called Groosham G ...

'' was published. Its central character is a thirteen-year-old "witch", David Eliot, gifted as the

seventh son of a seventh son ''Seventh Son of a Seventh Son'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It was released on 11 April 1988 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records and in the United States by Capitol Records. Like '' The Number of the ...

. This book went on to win the 1989 Lancashire Children's Book of the Year Award. Some similarities were made between this book and J. K. Rowling's newer '' Harry Potter'' series, but Horowitz did not choose to take action because of this. Despite this, the most major 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 s ...

'' (1986). This book was the first in the successful Diamond Brothers series, and was followed in 1987 by ''

Public Enemy Number Two ''Public Enemy Number Two'' is a novel written by Anthony Horowitz, the second in ''The Diamond Brothers'' series. It was first published in 1987.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 symbol of Britannia (a female personific ...

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. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

'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 is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

that he had plans to write a third book, but was dissuaded after the success of the ''Harry Potter'' series''.'' In the same year, Horowitz publishing 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. Sometime before the

new millennium In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 (21st to 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies seek to understand what is li ...

, 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. 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 ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

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 ''

'' novels. These books are about a 14-year-old boy becoming a

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

, a member of the British Secret Service branch MI6. As of 2021, there are eleven books where Alex Rider is the protagonist, and another connected to the Alex Rider series: ''

Stormbreaker ''Stormbreaker'' is a young adult action-adventure book written by British author Anthony Horowitz, and is the first novel in the ''Alex Rider'' series. The book was released in the United Kingdom on the 4th of September 2000, and in United S ...

'' (2000), ''

Point Blanc ''Point Blanc'' is the second book in the ''Alex Rider'' series, written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The book was released in the United Kingdom on September 3, 2001 and in North America on April 15, 2002, under the alternate title ' ...

'' (2001), ''

Skeleton Key A skeleton key (also known as a passkey) is a type of master key in which the serrated edge has been removed in such a way that it can open numerous locks, most commonly the warded lock. The term derives from the fact that the key has been r ...

'' (2002), '' Eagle Strike'' (2003), '' Scorpia'' (2004) ''

Ark Angel ''Ark Angel'' is the sixth book in the ''Alex Rider'' series written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novel is a spy thriller which follows the attempt by the title character, Alex Rider, to foil the plot of a Russian billionaire. The ...

'' (2005), '' Snakehead'' (2007), ''

Crocodile Tears Crocodile tears, or superficial sympathy, is a false, insincere display of emotion such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief. The phrase derives from an ancient belief that crocodiles shed tears while consuming their prey, and as such is p ...

'' (2009), ''

Scorpia Rising ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as wel ...

'' (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) and ''Nightshade'' (2020). In January 2022, he announced that he will begin writing a new Alex Rider novel that is due to be published sometime in 2023. In 2003, Horowitz also wrote three novellas featuring the Diamond Brothers: ''The Blurred Man'', ''

The French Confection ''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 s ...

'' and ''

I Know What You Did Last Wednesday ''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 s ...

'', which were republished together as ''

Three of Diamonds Diamonds is one of the four suits of playing cards in the standard French deck. It is the only French suit to not have been adapted from the German deck, taking the place of the suit of Bells . The original French name of the suit is Carreau; ...

'' in 2004. The author information page in early editions of '' Scorpia'' and the introduction to ''

'' 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 is 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 intends for the full, edited novel to be published in 2022, with all profits going to support the

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

. Horowitz also published two sequels to his short horror story collection; ''

More Horowitz Horror ''Horowitz Horror'' and ''More Horowitz Horror'' are two collections of short horror stories written by Anthony Horowitz, published in 1999 and 2000 respectively. A third set of stories called ''More Bloody Horowitz'' (or ''Bloody Horowitz'' ...

'' (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 ''Raven's Gate'' is the first book in '' The Power of Five'' series, written by Anthony Horowitz. It was published and released in the United Kingdom on 1 August 2005, by Walker Books Ltd and in the United States (1 June 2005) by Scholastic Press ...

'' which began a second successful series entitled ''

'' (''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 Evil Star is the name of two supervillains appearing in DC Comics publications. Publication history The Guy Pompton version of Evil Star debuted in ''All Star Comics'' #44 and was created by John Broome and Irwin Hasen. The alien version of Evil ...

'' (based on ''The Night of the Scorpion'')'','' was released in April 2006. The third in the series is called ''

Nightrise ''Nightrise '' is the third book in '' The Power of Five'' series, written by Anthony Horowitz. It was published and released in the UK on 2 April 2007 by Walker Books Ltd. It is preceded by ''Evil Star'', released in 2006, and followed by ''Nec ...

'' (based on ''The Silver Citadel''), and was released on 2 April 2007. The fourth book ''

Necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

'' (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 The SoHo Playhouse is an Off-Broadway theatre at 15 Vandam Street in the Hudson Square area of Manhattan. The theatre opened in 1962 as the Village South Theatre with the original production of Jean Erdman's musical play ''The Coach with the Six ...

in New York City. ''Mindgame'' starred

Keith Carradine Keith Ian Carradine ( ; born August 8, 1949) is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television. He is known for his roles as Tom Frank in Robert Altman's film ''Nashville'', Wild Bill Hickok in the HBO series '' Deadwood ...

, 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 in the main were liberal adaptation ...

. In March 2009 he was a guest on ''

Private Passions ''Private Passions'' is a weekly music discussion programme that has been running since 15 April 1995 on BBC Radio 3, presented by the composer Michael Berkeley. The production was formerly made by Classic Arts Productions, a British radio a ...

'', 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 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 2011 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4. A follow-up novel, '' Moriarty'', was published in 2014. In October 2014, the Ian Fleming estate commissioned Horowitz to write a

novel, ''

'', which was released in 2015. It was followed by a second novel, '' Forever and A Day'', which came out on 31 May 2018. A third novel entitled ''With a Mind to Kill'' was announced in May 2021 and will be released in May 2022. Horowitz is the only author in recent years to have been invited by

Ian Fleming Publications Ian Fleming Publications is the production company formerly known as both Glidrose Productions Limited and Glidrose Publications Limited, named after its founders John Gliddon and Norman Rose. In 1952, author Ian Fleming bought it after completi ...

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 expected to finish it in late 2015, and it was finally published in October 2016. A follow-up novel, '' Moonflower Murders'', was released in 2020. A third and final novel in the series is expected to be released as well, with Horowitz expressing hope that he'll start writing it sometime in 2023. 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 ''Just Ask for Diamond'', alternatively titled ''Diamond's Edge'', is a 1988 British comedy crime film directed by Stephen Bayly and starring Colin Dale, Saeed Jaffrey and Dursley McLinden. It is based on ''The Falcon's Malteser'' (1986), the ...

'', 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 a British character actor. He was known for his roles in films such as The Beatles' ''Help!'' (1965), Clapper in '' How I Won the War'' (1967) and Planchet in ''The Three Musketeer ...

, Susannah York,

Michael Robbins Michael Anthony Robbins (14 November 1930 – 11 December 1992) was an English actor and comedian best known for his role as Arthur Rudge in the TV sitcom and film versions of '' On the Buses'' (1969–73). Career Michael Robbins was born in ...

and

Patricia Hodge Patricia Ann Hodge, OBE (born 29 September 1946) is an English actor. 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 '' Mira ...

, 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, ''

''.

Television

Horowitz began writing for television in the 1980s, contributing to the children's anthology series ''

Dramarama Dramarama is an American, New Jersey–based alternative rock/power pop band, who later moved to Los Angeles. The band was formed in New Jersey in 1982 and disbanded in 1994. The band formally reunited in 2003 following an appearance on VH1's ...

'', and also writing five episodes of the third season for the popular fantasy series ''

Robin of Sherwood ''Robin of Sherwood'' is a British television series, based on the legend of Robin Hood. Created by Richard Carpenter, it was produced by HTV in association with Goldcrest, and ran from 28 April 1984 to 28 June 1986 on the ITV network. In th ...

''. 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 elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fi ...

'' (1987), a half-hour action adventure series loosely based on

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

. 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 ''Starting Out'' is an Australian television soap opera made for the Nine Network by the Reg Grundy Organisation in 1983. Background The five-night-a-week series was created by Reg Watson as the network's replacement for the long-running s ...

'' (1990), a collection of screenplays by the author himself, published. His association with murder mysteries began with the adaptation of several

Hercule Poirot Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...

stories for

's popular ''

'' series during the 1990s. Often his work has a comic edge, such as with the comic murder anthology ''

Murder Most Horrid ''Murder Most Horrid'' is a British black comedy anthology series starring Dawn French. It was broadcast on BBC Two for four series runs, in 1991, 1994, 1996 and 1999. Created by Paul Smith (television writer), Paul Smith, who also co-created '' ...

'' (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

. 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''. 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 is also less-favourably known for the creation of two short-lived and sometimes derided science-fiction shows, ''

Crime Traveller ''Crime Traveller'' is a 1997 science fiction detective television series produced by Carnival Films for the BBC based on the premise of using time travel for the purpose of solving crimes. Anthony Horowitz created the series and wrote every e ...

'' (1997) for BBC One and ''The Vanishing Man'' (pilot 1996, series 1998) for

. 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, the detective series ''

''launched, set during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He devised the 2009 ITV crime drama ''

'' and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael A. Walker. Horowitz adapted his novel '' Magpie Murders'' into a television miniseries, aired on

BritBox BritBox is an online digital video subscription service, founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, operating in nine countries across North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.

in the UK and on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

series ''Masterpiece

Mystery! ''Mystery!'' (also written ''MYSTERY!'') is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States. The series was created as a mystery, police and crime drama spin-off of the already established PBS show ''Masterpi ...

'' in the US.

Bibliography

Young adult novels

''
Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...
'' series

# ''

'' (2000) # ''

'' (2001; US title: ''Point Blank'') # ''

'' (2002) # '' Eagle Strike'' (2003) # '' Scorpia'' (2004) # ''

'' (2005) # '' Snakehead'' (2007) # ''

'' (2009) # ''

'' (2011) # '' Russian Roulette'' (2013) # '' Never Say Die'' (2017) # '' Nightshade'' (2020)

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 Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...
(The Gatekeepers)'' series

#''

'' (2005) #''

'' (2006) #''

'' (2007) #''

'' (2008) #'' Oblivion'' (2012)

Children's novels

'' Diamond Brothers'' series

#''

'' (1986) #''

Public Enemy Number Two ''Public Enemy Number Two'' is a novel written by Anthony Horowitz, the second in ''The Diamond Brothers'' series. It was first published in 1987.South By South East ''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 s ...

'' (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 s ...

'' (2003) #''

'' (2003) #'' The Greek Who Stole Christmas'' (2007) #'' Where Seagulls Dare'' (2022) #'' The Radius of the Lost Shark'' (announced)

Short stories

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

''Horowitz Horror'' series

#'' Horowitz Horror'' (1999) #''

'' (2001) #''More Bloody Horowitz'' (2009; retitled as ''Bloody Horowitz'' in the United States and later reissued as #(''Scared to Death'') Walker Books. .

''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

#''

'' (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) #''

'' (2004) #''

Four of Diamonds Four of Diamonds are an English girl group composed of Caroline Alvares, Lauren Rammell, Sophia Saffarian and Yasmin Broom. In 2016, they competed in the thirteenth series of ''The X Factor'', where they finished in eighth place. In 2018, they ...

'' (2008) #''The Complete Horowitz Horror'' (2008) #''Midnight Feast'' (2011; with

Meg Cabot Meggin Patricia Cabot (born February 1, 1967) is an American novelist. She has written and published over 50 novels of young adult and adult fiction and is best known for her young adult series ''Princess Diaries'', which was later adapted by W ...

Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the Artemis Fowl (series), ''Artemis Fowl'' series. I ...

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 ''Old Kingdom'', '' Seventh Tower'' and '' Keys to the Kingdom'' series. He has frequently been asked if his ...

Louise Rennison Louise Rennison (11 October 1951 – 29 February 2016) was an English author and comedian who wrote the ''Confessions of Georgia Nicolson'' series for teenage girls. The series records the exploits of a teenage girl, Georgia Nicolson, and her best ...

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 former ...

) #''RED'' (2012; with

Cecelia Ahern Cecelia Ahern (born 30 September 1981) is an Irish novelist, known for her works like '' PS, I Love You''; '' Where Rainbows End''; and '' If You Could See Me Now''. Born in Dublin, Ahern is now published in nearly fifty countries, and has sold ...

Rachel Cusk Rachel Cusk (born 8 February 1967) is a British novelist and writer. Childhood and education Cusk was born in Saskatoon to British parents in 1967, the second of four children with an older sister and two younger brothers, and spent much of h ...

Emma Donoghue Emma Donoghue (born 24 October 1969) is an Irish-Canadian playwright, literary historian, novelist, and screenwriter. Her 2010 novel ''Room'' was a finalist for the Booker Prize and an international best-seller. Donoghue's 1995 novel '' Hood'' ...

Max Hastings Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings (; born 28 December 1945) is a British journalist and military historian, who has worked as a foreign correspondent for the BBC, editor-in-chief of ''The Daily Telegraph'', and editor of the ''Evening Standard'' ...

Victoria Hislop Victoria Hislop (née Hamson; born 1959) is an English author. Early life Born in Bromley, Kent, she was raised in Tonbridge and attended Tonbridge Grammar School. She studied English at St Hilda's College, Oxford, and worked in publishing and ...

Hanif Kureishi Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist of South Asian and English descent. In 2008, ''The Times'' included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Early l ...

, Andrew Motion and

Will Self William Woodard Self (born 26 September 1961) is an English author, journalist, political commentator and broadcaster. He has written 11 novels, five collections of shorter fiction, three novellas and nine collections of non-fiction writing. Sel ...

) #''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 ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...
graphic novels''

#''

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

''
Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...
'' graphic novels

#''

'' #''Alex Rider:

'' #''Alex Rider: Eagle Strike'' #''Alex Rider: Scorpia'' #''Alex Rider:

Edge: Horowitz Graphic Horror

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

Adult novels

Sherlock Holmes novels

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

Short stories

#''The Three Monarchs'' (2014;

eBook An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

) #''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 tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

'', December 21-23)

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
novels

#''

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

Susan Ryeland series

#'' Magpie Murders'' (2016) #'' Moonflower Murders'' (2020)

Hawthorne and Horowitz series

#''

'' (2017) #''

'' (2019) #''A Line to Kill'' (2021) #''The Twist of a Knife'' (2022)

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 A Kindle single is a type of e-book which is published through Amazon's Kindle Store. It is specifically intended as a format for novella-length nonfiction literature or long-form journalism. The name "single" comes from musical singles which ar ...

)

Filmography

Film

Television

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 Eurochannel is a world television channel focused on European culture and lifestyle through movies, series and other programs dedicated to European culture. Eurochannel broadcasts in original audio with subtitles in English, Spanish and Portugu ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horowitz, Anthony 1955 births Living people English children's writers 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists English television writers English horror writers English screenwriters English male screenwriters English Jewish writers People from Stanmore Alumni of the University of York Officers of the Order of the British Empire English male novelists People educated at Rugby School 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers British male television writers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Background and personal life

Literary career

Early literary work (1979–1991)

Mainstream children's fiction success (2000–2010)

Continued success (2011–present)

Film and television career

Film

Television

Bibliography

Young adult novels

''Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...'' series

Short story collections

Related works

''The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ... (The Gatekeepers)'' series

Children's novels

'' Diamond Brothers'' series

Short stories

''Horowitz Horror'' series

''Legends'' series

''Groosham Grange'' series

''Pentagram'' series

Standalone children's novels

Other children's novels

Children's collections

Anthologies (edited)

Graphic novels

''The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ... graphic novels''

''Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...'' graphic novels

Edge: Horowitz Graphic Horror

Adult novels

Sherlock Holmes novels

Short stories

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ... novels

Susan Ryeland series

Hawthorne and Horowitz series

Standalone adult novels

Novellas

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

''
Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...
'' series

''
The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...
(The Gatekeepers)'' series

''
The Power of Five ''The Power of Five'' (re-titled as ''The Gatekeepers'' in the US) is a series of five fantasy and suspense novels, written by English author Anthony Horowitz. Published between 2005 and 2012, it is an updated re-imagining of Horowitz's ''Pe ...
graphic novels''

''
Alex Rider ''Alex Rider'' is a series of spy novels written by British author Anthony Horowitz. The novels revolve around a teenage spy named Alex Rider and is primarily aimed towards young adults. The series currently comprises thirteen novels, as we ...
'' graphic novels

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...
novels