Biography
Philip Reeve was born and brought up in Brighton, and has since lived in Devon and Dartmoor. He worked for many years in a bookshop, while involved with amateur film making and theatre.
Since 1994, he has earned his living as a cartoonist. His drawings are well known from three series of books for school children: Murderous Maths; Horrible Histories; and Dead Famous. He has provided illustrations and jokes for over forty books.
His first novel was Mortal Engines (2001), a thrilling fantasy adventure story with traditional elements and moral conundrums, set in a futuristic landscape where cities move across the globe, gobbling other towns and cities as they go. It opens: 'It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea.' Mortal Engines won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Award) in 2002 and was also shortlisted for the Whitbread Children's Book Award. Its sequel, Predator's Gold, was published in 2003, followed by the third and fourth books in the series, Infernal Devices (2005) and A Darkling Plain (2006). A Darkling Plain won the 2006 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
Philip Reeve has also had short stories published in various magazines, and is the author of the children's series of books about Buster Bayliss - far-fetched but hilarious tales for younger readers. He has also written a musical with Brian P Mitchell, 'The Ministry of Biscuits'.
Larklight (2006), is a Victorian space adventure for children. Its sequel, Starcross, was published in 2007, and a third book in the same series is due for publication in 2008. His latest novel is Here Lies Arthur (2007), shortlisted for the 2007 Booktrust Teenage Prize, and winner of the 2008 Carnegie Medal.
Bibliography
Mortal Engines Scholastic Press, 2001
Buster Bayliss 1: Night of the Living Veg Scholastic Hippo, 2002
Buster Bayliss 2: The Big Freeze Scholastic Hippo, 2002
Buster Bayliss 3: Day of the Hamster Scholastic Hippo, 2002
Buster Bayliss 4: Custardfinger Scholastic Hippo, 2003
Horatio Nelson and His Victory (and illustrator) Scholastic Hippo, 2003
Predator's Gold Scholastic Press, 2003
Infernal Devices Scholastic Press, 2005
A Darkling Plain Scholastic Press, 2006
Larklight Bloomsbury, 2006
Here Lies Arthur Scholastic, 2007
Starcross Bloomsbury, 2007
Mothstorm Bloomsbury, 2008
