Joe Craig (writer)


Joe Craig is an English children's novelist and musician.
He is best known for the Jimmy Coates series of books.

Early life and education

Craig was born and grew up in the Finchley neighborhood of London. His mother is a poet and his two sisters are also writers.
He studied philosophy at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he wrote and composed music for the Cambridge Footlights.

Career

In 2002, he provided the score for the musical theatre production Told You So: A Musical Hijacking of Aesop's Fables.
His first children's book, , 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

Craig is Jewish.
He met anthropologist and television presenter 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, London.
Craig played cricket for the Authors XI team of British writers during the 2012-13 season.

Books


Short e-books: