Paul Stewart (born June 1955) is a writer of children's books, best known for three series written in collaboration with the illustrator Chris Riddell: The Edge Chronicles, the Free Lance novels, and the Far Flung Adventures series.
Background
Stewart was born in London in 1955. His family lived first in Muswell Hill, North London and later in Morden, South London, where he went to school. His favourite subject at school was English and he hated Mathematics. When Stewart left school, he went travelling, spending several months in Greece, where he took various jobs, including picking oranges and grapes, and whitewashing hotels.
From 1974 to 1977, Stewart studied at the University of Lancaster, majoring in English, (which included a Creative Writing unit) with a minor in Religious Education. On graduation, he went travelling again, before enrolling in 1978 to do an M.A. in Creative Writing with Angela Carter and Malcolm Bradbury at the University of East Anglia. He went to Heidelberg, Germany in 1979 for three years, both as a teacher of English and as a student at Heidelberg University, learning German. In 1982, he went to Sri Lanka to teach English as a foreign language returning to the UK a year later where he continued to teach (1983–90) before becoming a full-time writer.
Stewart's first book to be published was The Thought Domain (1988) which was then followed by a number of other children's and young adult novels, chiefly in the thriller, horror and SF/Fantasy genres. Stewart's only adult book to date, Trek, was published in 1991.
Literary influences
Stewart's favourite books when a child were The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Rupert Bear Annuals, and the works of Alan Garner, especially Elidor. He also read a lot of science fiction.
Stewart started writing at a very young age. At the age of seven he was writing a series about a snail called Oliver and he started a sequel to The Phantom Tollbooth at ten. Some of the ideas from this early work were later developed and became the basis of The Thought Domain which was published in 1988.
Collaboration with Chris Riddell
Stewart first met Chris Riddell in 1993, through having children at the same school. Riddell was looking for someone to write texts that he could illustrate. Stewart had already had a number of books published. Their first collaborative work were the Rabbit and Hedgehog books (published 1998–2003 by Andersen Press). The inspiration for The Edge Chronicles came from a map Riddell drew of an imaginary world in 1994 and then challenged Stewart to write about it. The first book in the sequence, Beyond the Deepwoods, was commissioned by Transworld Publishers (now part of the Random House Group) on the basis of the map and the first four chapters. The book then took three years to write as Stewart and Riddell worked out both the plot and how best to work together. Originally commissioned as a single book, Stewart and Riddell hoped that it might become a trilogy. The series has now extended to fifteen full-length novels, five short stories, a book of maps and a now-defunct blog called Weird New Worlds. The final book, The Descenders, was released in 2019.
When writing together, Stewart and Riddell work on the development of plots and characters together, sometimes starting from a bit of writing, sometimes from an illustration on one of Riddell's sketchbooks. They have long conversations over many days, during which the novels emerge. They don't always agree and the debates can become quite heated but they have remained good friends. Following these discussions, Stewart normally writes a first draft, which Riddell will edit or rewrite before Stewart produces a final draft.
As well as The Edge Chronicles, Stewart and Riddell have also collaborated on a trilogy of shorter adventures, Freelance; a quartet of younger books, The Far Flung Adventures, the first of which, Fergus Crane, won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize (Gold Medal) in 2004; The Blobheads series (2000–2004); Muddle Earth (2003), and a further quartet, Barnaby Grimes (2007–2009). Their latest novel, Wyrmeweald trilogy, was published by Doubleday Children's Books in April 2010.
Personal life Stewart lives in the British seaside city of Brighton with his wife and children, which, by coincidence, also happens to be the city where his co-creator Riddell resides.
Awards
These three books constitute the Far Flung Adventures series, written by Stewart and illustrated by Riddell. 2004 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Medal, age category 6–8 years: Fergus Crane Smarties Prize 2005 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Silver Medal, age category 6–8 years: Corby Flood 2006 Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Silver Medal, age category 6–8 years: Hugo Pepper
Bibliography
Fiction The Thought Domain, illustrated by Jon Riley. London: Viking, 1988; New York: Puffin, 1989 The Weather Witch, illustrated by Jon Riley. London: Viking, 1989; New York: Puffin, 1990 Adam's Ark, illustrated by Kevin Jones. London: Viking, 1990; New York: Puffin, 1992 Giant Gutso and the Wacky Gang, illustrated by Colin West. London: Orchard, 1991 Rory McCory's Nightmare Machine, illustrated by Paul Finn. London: Viking, 1992; New York: Puffin, 1993 The Snowman Who Couldn't Melt, illustrated by Annabel Large. London: Viking, 1993; New York: Puffin, 1994 Bubble and Shriek, illustrated by Annabel Large. London: Viking, 1993: New York: Puffin, 1995 Castle of Intrigue, illustrated by Jane Gedye. London: Usborne, 1994 Neighbourhood Witch, illustrated by Annabel Large. London: Viking, 1994; New York: Puffin, 1995 Stage Fright, illustrated by Alan Marks. London: Usborne, 1995 Brown Eyes. London: Penguin, 1996; new edition, Longman, 1999 The Diary. London: Penguin, 1996 The Clock of Doom. London: Usborne, 1996 The Wakening. London: Yearling, 1996 Football Mad series. London: Hippopotamus Football Mad, 1997 Football Mad: Off-Side!, 1998 Football Mad: Hat-Trick!, 1999 Football Mad: Teamwork!, 2000 Football Mad: Own Goal!, 2020 The Midnight Hand. London: Yearling, 1997 Lucky Luke and Other very Short Stories. London: Penguin, 1997 Dogbird, illustrated by Tony Ross. London: Corgi, 1998 The Hanging Tree. London: Scholastic, 1998 Millie's Party, illustrated by Bernard Lodge. London: Blue Bananas, 1999 Freight Train. London: Scholastic, 2000 Sausage, illustrated by Nick Ward. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002 The Were-Pig, illustrated by Tony Ross. London: Corgi, 2002 The Watch-Frog, illustrated by Tony Ross. London: Corgi, 2003
For adults Trek. London: Jonathan Cape, 1991; reissued Corgi, 2007
Picture books Rabbit & Hedgehog Series (all illustrated by Chris Riddell) The Birthday Presents London: Andersen Press, 1998; New York: HarperCollins, 2000 A Little Bit of Winter. London: Andersen Press, 1998; New York: HarperCollins, 1999 Rabbit's Wish. London: Andersen Press, 2001; New York: HarperCollins, 2001 What Do You Remember?. London: Andersen Press, 2002 Brian the Brave. Hereford: Otter-Barry Books, 2021
Fiction co-authored with Chris Riddell
Muddle Earth. London: Macmillan, 2003; New York: Yearling, 2009 Muddle Earth Too. London: Macmillan, 2011
The Edge Chronicles
Beyond the Deepwoods. London: Doubleday, 1998; New York: David Fickling Books, 2004 Stormchaser. London: Doubleday, 1999; New York: David Fickling Books, 2004 Midnight Over Sanctaphrax. London: Doubleday, 2000; New York: David Fickling Books, 2004 The Curse of the Gloamglozer. London: Doubleday, 2001; New York: David Fickling Books, 2005 Cloud Wolf. (published for World Book Day 2001). London: Corgi, 2001 The Last of the Sky Pirates. London: Doubleday, 2002; New York: David Fickling Books, 2005 Vox. London: Doubleday, 2003; New York: David Fickling Books, 2005 The Stone Pilot. (published for World Book Day 2006). London: Corgi, 2006 Freeglader. London: Doubleday, 2004; New York: David Fickling Books, 2006 The Winter Knights. London: Doubleday, 2005; New York: David Fickling Books, 2007 Clash of the Skygalleons. London: Doubleday, 2006; New York: David Fickling Books, 2007 The Lost Barkscrolls. London: Doubleday, 2007 The Immortals. London: Doubleday, 2009; New York: David Fickling Books 2010 The Nameless One - Book 1 of the Cade Saga. London: Doubleday, 2015 Doombringer - Book 2 of the Cade Saga. London: Doubleday, 2015 The Descenders - Book 3 of the Cade Saga. London: Doubleday, 2019
The Blobheads
All published by London: Macmillan. Invasion of the Blobs. 2000 Talking Toasters. 2000 School Stinks. 2000 Beware of the Babysitter. 2000 Garglejuice. 2000 Silly Billy. 2000 Naughty Gnomes. 2000 Purple Alert!. 2000 Blobheads go Boing! 2004
A Knight's Story Free Lance and the Lake of Skulls. London: Hodder, 2003; New York: (published as Lake of Skulls) Atheneum, 2004 Free Lance and the Field of Blood. London: Hodder, 2004; New York: (published as Joust of Honor) Atheneum, 2005 Free Lance and the Dragon's Hoard. London: Hodder, 2005; New York: (published as Dragon's Hoard) Atheneum, 2005
Far Flung Adventures Fergus Crane. London: Doubleday, 2004; New York: David Fickling Books, 2006 Corby Flood. London: Doubleday, 2005; New York: David Fickling Books, 2006 Hugo Pepper. London: Doubleday, 2006; New York: David Fickling Books, 2007
Barnaby Grimes
Barnaby Grimes: The Curse of the Nightwolf. London: Doubleday, 2007; New York: David Fickling Books, 2008 Barnaby Grimes: Return of the Emerald Skull. London: Doubleday, 2008; New York: David Fickling Books, 2009 Barnaby Grimes: Legion of the Dead. London: Doubleday, 2008; New York: David Fickling Books, 2010 Barnaby Grimes: Phantom of Blood Alley. London: Doubleday, 2009; New York: David Fickling Books, 2010
Wyrmeweald Trilogy Wyrmeweald: Returner's Wealth. London: Doubleday, 2010 Wyrmeweald: Bloodhoney. London: Doubleday, 2012 Wyrmeweald: The Bone Trail. London: Doubleday, 2013
References
External links
About Paul & Chris (official, archived 5 December 2013) Official Random House site Official Barnaby Grimes site Edge Chronicles fansite ACHUKA biographical sketch and interview Paul Stewart's Top 5 Books for 6-8 year olds, The Guardian, 23 March 2005 Audio interview with Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell; Scottish Book Trust, 2009, Retrieved 13 February 2010 Dispatches from the Deepwoods