Biography
Alan Gibbons was born in 1953 in Warrington, Cheshire, later moving with his family to Crewe.
He was a school teacher for some time and now works as a full-time writer and independent educational consultant. He is also a regular contributor to education newspapers and magazines such as Times Education Supplement and Junior Education.
He has written many books for children and young adults, including the Total Football series (1997-1999); the Legendeer trilogy (Shadow of the Minotaur, 2000; Vampyr Legion, 2000; and Warrior of the Raven, 2001) - which tells the story of a boy, Phoenix, involved in a virtual reality computer game. He also wrote a fantasy sequence, Lost Souls, comprising of Rise of the Blood Moon (2006) and Setting of a Cruel Sun (2006).
Scared to Death (2007), is the first in the Hell's Underground series. The second in the series is The Demon Assassin (2008). The Number 7 Shirt (2008), a book for reluctant readers, is the latest in a series of other books he has written for Barrington Stoke, namely: The Cold Heart of Summer (2002); The Night Hunger (2004); and The Greatest (2006).
His books for teenage audiences often deal with difficult issues, and have included stories about bullying, domestic violence and the effects of terrorism. His most recent novels are no exception dealing with the issues of gun crime (Raining Fire (2013)), hate crime (Hate (2014)) and difficult father son relationship (End Game and Street Corner Dad (2015)). He occasionally writes with his twin daughters Rachel and Megan, the most recent collaboration being Weirdibeasts Weird School Day (2015).
Alan Gibbons won the Blue Peter Book Award: The Book I Couldn't Put Down in 2000 for Shadow of the Minotaur (2000), and has been shortlisted twice for the Carnegie Medal and the Booktrust Teenage Prize.
Bibliography
Awards
Author statement
Telling stories is what I do, it's one of the things that makes me tick. I feel so lucky that winning a Blue Peter Award on TV made it possible for me to turn my hobby into a full time career. I now travel the UK and destinations as far afield as China, Cyprus, Spain, France and Norway talking about books and leading writing workshops. I can't imagine a better way to earn a living. All power to the imagination!
