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Jeremy Strong (author)

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Jeremy Strong
Born(1949-11-18)18 November 1949
New Eltham, London, England
Died4 August 2024(2024-08-04) (aged 74)
OccupationWriter, teacher
Period1978–2024
GenreChildren's literature
SpouseGillie Strong
ChildrenDaniel and Jessica
Website
jeremystrong.co.uk

Jeremy Strong (18 November 1949 – 4 August 2024) was a British writer credited with over 100 children's books.

Life and career

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Jeremy Strong was born in New Eltham in London on 18 November 1949.[1] He attended Wyborne Primary School, east London, Haberdashers Aske's Boys' School and the University of York. After university he became a junior school teacher while beginning his writing career, publishing his first book Smith's Tail, a picture story for young children in 1978.

Strong left teaching in 1991 and wrote full-time for the rest of his life. His humorous writing often makes use of his childhood and primary teaching experiences. His story There's A Viking In My Bed was made into a BBC children's TV series and he has won several awards including the prestigious "Children's Book Award 1997" for The Hundred Mile an Hour Dog, the "Manchester Book Award" for his teen novel Stuff and the "Sheffield Book Award" for Beware, Killer Tomatoes.

Strong regularly wrote stories for dyslexic children, published by the specialist publisher, Barrington Stoke. He lived near Bath in England, with his wife Gillie, two cats and four hens. Strong died of bone cancer on 4 August 2024, at the age of 74.[2][3][4]

Strong's final novel, Fox Goes North was published posthumously by Scholastic in October 2024. The story tells of a band of animal companions who travel northwards in a topsy-turvey caravan on their quest to see the Northern Lights. For the elderly fox, it will be her final journey. In an interview with Nikkki Gamble, Strong said that as he was writing the story, he became aware that he was writing the story of his own journey too.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Summary Bibliography: Jeremy Strong". www.isfdb.org. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. ^ Wood, Heloise (5 August 2024). "Tributes paid to 'brilliantly talented' Jeremy Strong". The Bookseller. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Jeremy Strong, children's author who shunned gritty realism in favour of zany comedy – obituary". The Telegraph. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 13 August 2024.
  4. ^ Eccleshare, Julia (16 August 2024). "Jeremy Strong obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Jeremy Strong: Fox Goes North. An interview with Nikki Gamble". 10 October 2024.
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