Piers Torday

I have been telling stories my whole life. My professional career has taken me to theatre, TV, film and children's literature. I write middle-grade adventure and fantasy books for readers aged 8-12 and plays for the whole family to enjoy. My books are being adapted for stage and screen and have been translated into 14 languages, including Brazilian, Italian and Spanish.

Telling stories is one of the most natural human activities; it comes to us naturally as breathing. However, it can seem more complex and mysterious than it is, although there is always an element of magic to any great story. I aim to demystify that process and show that anyone can write with the right tools and strategies. We all have at least one great story inside us.

I have been teaching children and adults to write for eight years, using skills I have learned from my training at The Novelry, The Arvon Creative Writing Foundation, and the City Lit University, as well as insights I have gained through my practice and those shared with me by fellow writers. I have taught creative writing globally, from the USA to China, and I look forward to sharing what I have learned on that journey here.

My books include The Last Wild (shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize), The Dark Wild (Guardian Children's Fiction Prize) and The Lost Magician (Teach Primary Book Award). My latest book is The Wild Before.

I have also adapted several classic family stories for theatre, including the world premiere stage version of John Masefield's The Box of Delights, Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (featuring the first female Scrooge on the London stage) and The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (all for Wiltons' Music Hall, London)