Anthony Horowitz
Anthony Horowitz Stanmore, Middlesex, England | |
---|---|
Occupation | Novelist, screenwriter, children's author & adult author |
Alma mater | University of York |
Genre | Adventure, mystery, thriller, horror, fantasy |
Notable works | |
Spouse |
Jill Green (m. 1988) |
Children | 2 |
Website | |
anthonyhorowitz |
Anthony John Horowitz
Horowitz's works for adults include the play Mindgame (2001); two Sherlock Holmes novels, The House of Silk (2011) and Moriarty (2014); two novels featuring his own detective Susan Ryeland, Magpie Murders (2016) and Moonflower Murders (2020); and five novels featuring a fictionalised version of himself as a companion and chronicler to private investigator Daniel Hawthorne: The Word Is Murder (2017), The Sentence Is Death (2018), A Line to Kill (2021), The Twist of a Knife (2022), and Close to Death (2024).
The estate of James Bond creator Ian Fleming chose Horowitz to write Bond novels utilising unpublished material by Fleming, starting with Trigger Mortis in 2015, followed by Forever and a Day in 2018, and a third and final novel With a Mind to Kill in May 2022.
Horowitz has also written for television, contributing scripts to
Early life
Horowitz was born in
Horowitz started writing at the age of eight or nine 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."[6]
At age 13 he went to Rugby School, a public school in Rugby, Warwickshire. He graduated from the University of York with a lower second class degree in English literature and art history in 1977, where he was in Vanbrugh College.[7][8]
Horowitz's mother introduced him to Frankenstein and Dracula. She 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.[9]
Horowitz's father was associated with some of the politicians in the "circle" of prime minister
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[12] 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.[13]
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. He was also involved in writing scripts for the cult 1980s television series Robin of Sherwood and the spin-off novel.
In 1988,
Despite this, the most major release of Horowitz's early career was
Early children's fiction success (1992–1999)
Horowitz wrote many stand-alone novels in the 1990s. His 1994 novel Granny, a comedy thriller about an evil grandmother, was Horowitz's first book in three years, and it was the first of three books for an audience similar to that of Groosham Grange. The second of these was The Switch, a body swap story, first published in 1996. The third was 1997's
In 1999,
Some time before the
Mainstream children's fiction success (2000–2010)
Horowitz began his most famous and successful series in the new millennium with the
In 2003, Horowitz also wrote three novellas featuring the Diamond Brothers: The Blurred Man,
Horowitz also published two sequels to his short horror story collection;
In 2004, Horowitz again attempted to branch out to an adult audience with
In October 2008, Anthony Horowitz's play Mindgame opened Off Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City.[25] Mindgame starred Keith Carradine, Lee Godart, and Kathleen McNenny. The production was the New York stage directorial debut for Ken Russell.
In March 2009 he was a guest on Private Passions, the biographical music discussion programme on BBC Radio 3.[26]
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[27][28][29] in November 2011 and broadcast on BBC Radio 4.[30] A follow-up novel, Moriarty, was published in 2014.
In October 2014, the estate of Ian Fleming commissioned Horowitz to write a James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis, which was released in 2015. It was followed by a second novel, Forever and A Day, which came out on 31 May 2018.[31] A third novel entitled With a Mind to Kill was released on May 17, 2022.[32] Horowitz is the only author in recent years to have been invited by Ian Fleming Publications 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".[33] Horowitz finally expected to finish it in late 2015,[34] and it was finally published in October 2016.[35] 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.[36]
In 2017, Horowitz began a new series of detective novels which includes himself as a novelist enlisted by an out-of-work detective called Hawthorne to write books about the way Hawthorne solves crimes. The fictional Horowitz accompanies Hawthorne as he investigates murders committed in London and other locations. So far, starting with The Word is Murder, four of these books have appeared, with three others commissioned.
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".[37] 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,[38] 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.[39] However, Horowitz revealed in 2021 that he has yet to begin writing this series and that he has no immediate plans to do so.[40]
Film and television career
Film
Horowitz wrote the screenplay for Just Ask for Diamond, 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, Roy Kinnear, Susannah York, Michael Robbins and Patricia Hodge, 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, Stormbreaker.
Television
Horowitz began writing for television in the 1980s, contributing to the children's anthology series
In addition, he created
His association with murder mysteries began with the adaptation of several
In 1991, The Diamond Brothers, a six-part television series written and directed by Horowitz himself, was broadcast on ITV. 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[
In 2002, Horowitz created the series
Horowitz devised the 2009 ITV crime drama Collision and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael A. Walker.
Horowitz adapted his novel Magpie Murders into a television miniseries, which aired on BritBox and later BBC One in the UK and on the PBS series Masterpiece Mystery! in the US.[41]
Personal life
Horowitz lives in Central London (Clerkenwell) with his wife Jill Green;
Horowitz 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.[44]
Politically, Horowitz has described himself to be "vaguely conservative".[45] Ahead of the 2010 United Kingdom general election, Horowitz stated he would vote for the Conservative Party in response to the policies of the governing Labour Party, but "with little enthusiasm."[46] 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'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."[11][47]
Honours and awards
Horowitz was appointed
both for services to literature.Bibliography
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (May 2023) |
Young adult novels
Alex Rider series
- Stormbreaker(2000)
- Point Blanc (2001; US title: Point Blank)
- Skeleton Key (2002)
- Eagle Strike(2003)
- Scorpia(2004)
- Ark Angel (2005)
- Snakehead(2007)
- Crocodile Tears(2009)
- Scorpia Rising(2011)
- Russian Roulette(2013)
- Never Say Die(2017)
- Nightshade(2020)
- Nightshade Revenge (2023)
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 Gatekeepers) series
- Raven's Gate (2005)
- Evil Star (2006)
- Nightrise (2007)
- Necropolis(2008)
- Oblivion (2012)
Children's novels
Diamond Brothers series
- The Falcon's Malteser(1986)
- Public Enemy Number Two(1987)
- South By South East(1991)
- The Blurred Man(2003)
- I Know What You Did Last Wednesday(2003)
- The French Confection(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)
- More Horowitz Horror(2001)
- More Bloody Horowitz (2009; retitled as Bloody Horowitz in the United States)[51]
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
- Groosham Grange (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)
- Three of Diamonds(2004)
- Four of Diamonds(2008)
- The Complete Horowitz Horror (2008)
- Midnight Feast (2011; with Meg Cabot, Eoin Colfer, Garth Nix, Louise Rennison and Darren Shan)
- RED (2012; with Cecelia Ahern, Rachel Cusk, Emma Donoghue, Max Hastings, Victoria Hislop, Hanif Kureishi, Andrew Motion and Will Self)
- 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 graphic novels
- The Power of Five 1: Raven's Gate (2010)
- The Power of Five 2: Evil Star (2014)
- The Power of Five 3: Nightrise (2014)
Alex Rider graphic novels
- Stormbreaker
- Alex Rider: Point Blanc
- Alex Rider: Skeleton Key
- Alex Rider: Eagle Strike
- Alex Rider: Scorpia
- Alex Rider: Ark Angel
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)
- The Adventure of the Seven Christmas Cards (2020; published in three parts in the Daily Mail, December 21–23)
James Bond novels
- Trigger Mortis (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
- The Word Is Murder (2017)
- The Sentence Is Death (2019)
- A Line to Kill (2021)
- The Twist of a Knife (2022)
- Close to Death (2024)
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)
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Just Ask for Diamond | Screenwriter | |
2003 | The Gathering | Screenwriter | |
2006 | Stormbreaker | Screenwriter |
Television
Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Robin of Sherwood | Screenwriter | 5 episodes |
1987 | Boon | Screenwriter | |
1987-1988 | Crossbow | Creator and screenwriter | 12 episodes |
1989 | Dramarama | Screenwriter | Episode "Back to Front" |
1989–1991 | Grim Tales | Screenwriter | |
1991 | The Diamond Brothers | Creator and director | 6 episodes |
1991–2001 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Screenwriter | 11 episodes |
1995 | Chiller | Screenwriter | 2 episodes |
1996 | Murder Most Horrid | Screenwriter | 1 episode |
1997–2000 | Midsomer Murders | Creator and director | 6 episodes |
1997 | Crime Traveller | Creator and director | 8 episodes |
2001–2003 | Murder in Mind | Creator | 7 episodes |
2002–2015 | Foyle's War | Creator and screenwriter | 25 episodes |
2009 | Collision | Creator | 5 episodes |
2011 | Injustice | Creator | 5 episodes |
2016 | New Blood | Creator | 7 episodes |
2020–2021 | Alex Rider | Executive Producer | 16 episodes |
2022 | Magpie Murders | Screenwriter | 6 episodes |
Theatre
Year | Title | Credit | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Mindgame | Playwright | Performed 1999, published 2000 |
2009 | A Handbag | Playwright | Performed as part of the National Theatre Connections festival |
2015 | Dinner with Saddam | Playwright |
References
- ^ "Horowitz, Anthony, 1955–". Library of Congress. Retrieved 1 May 2015.
(Anthony Horowitz) CIP data sheet (b. April 5, 1955)
- ^ Purdon, Fiona (14 November 2008). "Anthony Horowitz has lost his role models for Alex Rider". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony. "Anthony Horowitz – About Anthony". AnthonyHorowitz.com. Archived from the original on 16 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ a b Elkin, Michael (12 October 2006). "Horowitz ... Anthony Horowitz – After a childhood shaken and stirred, the writer bonds with film fans". The Jewish Exponent. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (18 February 2022). "@CelineVivet @WeegieDoll The dog ate him twenty years ago. 😢" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 February 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "An Interview With Anthony Horowitz | Scholastic". www.scholastic.com. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
- ^ Nouse (13 October 2009). "From booze to books". nouse.co.uk.
- ^ "York honours contributions to society". Grapevine (2010 Autumn/Winter). Alumni Office, University of York: 6. 2010. Archived from the original on 4 June 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ^ "Anthony Horowitz: 'I don't have breakfast. If I can hold off eating, I work better'". The Guardian. 22 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony (23 March 2013). "Loose Ends" (Interview). BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
- ^ a b c Kean, Danuta (27 August 2017). "Anthony Horowitz: 'People used to disagree. Now they send death threats'". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ Anthony Horowitz. The Sinister Secret of Frederick K. Bower (London: Arlington Books, 1979)
- ^ Anthony Horowitz. Misha, the Magician and the Mysterious Amulet (London: Arlington Books, 1981)
- ^ "Lancashire Children's Book of the Year". Archived from the original on 26 June 2007.
- ^ Espinosa, Michael (22 October 2006). "YOZONE : Anthony Horowitz sur la Yozone – (Cyberespace de l'imaginaire". www.yozone.fr (in French). Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (15 May 2021). "@ChristianGauci I was planning a third book. But then someone called Harry Potter came along... 🥲" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 7 June 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (4 June 2021). "@magicalmomU7 It can't be found. It was never published in English" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ "News – Nightrise, Walker Books and Snakehead". anthonyhorowitz.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ^ Scorpia Rising[dead link] Horowitz official site
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony. "The Greek Who Stole Christmas". Red House Books. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007.
- ^ "WHERE SEAGULLS DARE – Diamond Brothers – Read the first Chapter Now! | News". Anthony Horowitz. 26 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "Wolf Island – Darren Shan – Author". darrenshan.com. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "NECROPOLIS, NEW YORK AND A QUESTION: SHOULD I SUE DARREN SHAN? | News". Anthony Horowitz. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
- ^ "News – January 2005". anthonyhorowitz.com. Archived from the original on 23 March 2006.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (9 November 2008). "Journalist in Asylum Lacks Exit Strategy". The New York Times Theater Reviews. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ "Private Passions". BBC Radio 3. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ^ "Alex Rider Author, Anthony Horowitz to Write New Sherlock Holmes Novel". Orion Books. 17 January 2011. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 10 June 2012. Copy at Anthony Horowitz site
- ^ "Sherlock Holmes brought back to life by writer Anthony Horowitz". BBC World Service. 19 January 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ^ Kennedy, Maev (12 April 2011). "New Sherlock Holmes novel by Anthony Horowitz out in November". The Guardian.
- ^ "The House of Silk". Book at Bedtime. BBC Radio 4. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2012.
- ^ "Forever and A Day". Ian Fleming Publications. 8 February 2018.
- ^ "With a Mind To Kill". Ian Fleming. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
- ^ "Anthony Horowitz, author of The Killing Joke, answers our questions". Orion Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2006.
- ^ "First Sherlock, now Bond: Why Anthony Horowitz is on a roll". independent.co.uk. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Author of MORIARTY and TRIGGER MORTIS, Anthony Horowitz offers up a whodunit like no other in this fiendishly clever new novel". Orion Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 12 March 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (10 January 2022). "@jonneal_UK @WoodbridgeEmpor I hope to write it next year" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (14 November 2011). "@sqaushpool I have a three-part series in mind but it's a secret" (Tweet). Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (13 July 2012). "@SoopaNinjaa One more series, a trilogy, to come. It's a completely new genre. No spies. No detectives. Quite excited..." (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (23 September 2013). "@christianb572 Modern day. 15-year-old hero with parents and sister. London setting. Possible title: The Machine" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (10 February 2021). "@ChristianGauci Still in my thoughts. I will write it one day. But not yet" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022 – via Twitter.
- ^ Halleman, Caroline (23 July 2020). "Anthony Horowitz's bestselling novel is being adapted for Masterpiece PBS". Town & Country. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
- ^ Cullen, Helen (5 July 2020). "Author Anthony Horowitz and his wife, Jill Green, on their rollercoaster courtship". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Meet Anthony Horowitz". Washington Post. 17 May 2006. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "Kidscape Staff, Trustees, Patrons, Volunteers". Archived from the original on 24 May 2011.
- ^ Horowitz, Anthony [@AnthonyHorowitz] (21 March 2014). "@griffsimon Not sure I support any of them but vaguely conservative, I suppose" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via Twitter.
- Independent.co.uk. 23 October 2011. Archivedfrom the original on 7 May 2022.
- TheGuardian.com. 21 May 2017.
- ^ "No. 60728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 12.
- ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N9.
- ^ "The 2022 New Year's Honours list in full, and what the different ranks mean". inews.co.uk. 31 December 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-4063-1700-8.
External links
- Official website
- Anthony Horowitz at IMDb
- Anthony Horowitz at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Profile at publisher Walker Books
- Audio interview regarding Snakehead novel
- Anthony Horowitz at Library of Congress, with 55 library catalogue records
- Interview with Antony Horowitz on Eurochannel