Anthony Horowitz is probably one of the most prolific and successful writers this country has – and is unique for working across so many medias.

Born in North London, Anthony Horowitz was 23 when his first novel, Enter Frederick K Bower, was published in 1979. But it was in 2000, that the Horowitz phenomenon really exploded, with his creation of Alex Rider - the reluctant teenage superspy. Alex Rider’s seven missions to date have sold over ten million copies worldwide. Anthony’s work has been translated into 28 languages. In 2006, Alex’s first mission, Stormbreaker hit movie screens, scripted by Anthony himself. In addition to Alex Rider, Anthony writes two other bestselling series – the supernatural Power of Five novels and the comic detective adventures featuring The Diamond Brothers.

Anthony has an unrivalled reputation for getting boys into books. In 2007, Anthony was singled out by then Education Secretary Alan Johnson as the not-so-secret weapon to get boys reading. In 2008, Anthony was made the National Year of Reading’s first Champion Author due to his regular outreach work to Youth Offenders and Looked After Children throughout the UK.  In November, Alex Rider’s eighth mission, Crocodile Tears, will be published. 2010 marks the 10th anniversary of the Alex Rider phenomenon and ten years of Anthony Horowitz topping bestseller lists.

Anthony enjoys parallel success as an award-winning screenwriter. He is the writer/creator behind Midsomer Murders and the BAFTA award-winning Foyle’s War, for which he has written 19 out of the 22 episodes; returning for its seventh series in 2010.  His current drama is a five part “State of the Nation” piece called Collision, an ITV “event drama” that is set to be one of the most talked about series of 2009.

Anthony is also a regular guest critic on BBC’s Newsnight Review and writes journalism on a wide range of issues for a variety of national newspapers.