Marks, Graham

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Marks, Graham

PERSONAL:

Children: two sons. Education: Harrow School of Art, diploma.

CAREER:

Designer and author. Worked as a freelance design consultant and publisher of Stuff & Nonsense and Owl magazine. Freelance children's editor for Publishing News, beginning 1993; creative director for advertising agency, London, England.

WRITINGS:

Seeing Is Touching: Ten Poems, graphics by Paul Peich, Taurus Press (Bushy Heath, England), 1970.

The Finding of Stoby Binder (novel), Hodder and Stoughton (London, England), 1982.

The Big Surprise, Hodder and Stoughton (London, England), 1983.

Bullet Trains and Underwater Tricycles, Guinness Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Webster and the Witch, illustrated by Roger Wade Walker, Hodder and Stoughton (London, England), 1986.

Sheep Ahoy! And Other Wacky Stories from the Newspapers, Armada (London, England), 1987.

Gilbert's Best Jokes on Earth, Corgi (London, England), 1988.

Odd Pets, Armada (London, England), 1988.

Pocket Book of London, Kingfisher (London, England), 1988.

Baseball! A Guide to the Ultimate American Game, Armada (London, England), 1988.

A Shriek of Spooks, Armada (London, England), 1988.

Mispronts: A Collection of Silly Misprints, Armada (London, England), 1988.

A Barrel of Laughs, Armada (London, England), 1989.

Wall's Jolly Lolly Joke Book, Armada (London, England), 1989.

Charlene's Tail, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Endangered Species, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

When Food Goes Bad, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Subterranean Sea, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Undersea Hijack, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Tree Troubles, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

The Ghost Ship, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Under Fire, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Golden Child, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Club Fred, Boxtree (London, England), 1992.

Flight 104, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

The King's Complex, BBC Children's Books (London, England), 1994.

The Cocoa Mission, BBC Children's Books (London, England), 1994.

Hard Drive, Hippo (London, England), 1995.

Judge Dredd: The Junior Novelization, Boxtree (London, England), 1995.

System Crash, Hippo (London, England), 1995.

The Spider Slayer, Sapling (London, England), 1995.

Download, Hippo (London, England), 1995.

The Mask: It's Not Easy Being Green, Hippo Hollywood (London, England), 1995.

Haden's Quest, Bantam (London, England), 1996.

Fault Line, Bantam (London, England), 1996.

Wallace and Gromit in Nick Park's "A Close Shave," Doubleday (New York, NY), 1996.

Wallace and Gromit in "The Wrong Trousers," Doubleday (New York, NY), 1996.

Skitzo, Scholastic (London, England), 1997.

Roger and the Rottentrolls in Reigning Sheep and Trolls, Madcap (London, England), 1998.

The Rottentrolls II: With a Vengeance (Sort Of), Madcap (London, England), 1998.

Farmyard Adventures, Siena (Bath, England), 1999.

Toybox Tales, Siena (Bath, England), 1999.

Teddy Bear Adventures, Siena (Bath, England), 1999.

Bedtime Tales, Seina (Bath, England), 1999.

Radio Radio, Bloomsbury (London, England), 2003.

How It Works: Everyone Gets the Angel They Deserve, Trafalgar Square (New York, NY), 2004.

Zoo, Bloomsbury (London, England), 2005.

Missing in Tokyo: A Novel, Bloomsbury (New York, NY), 2006.

Omega Place, Bloomsbury (New York, NY), 2007.

Also author of comic strips "Motormouth" and "The Genetix," for Marvel UK; author of scripts for radio program Wiggly Park for BBC Radio 5. Contributor to periodicals, including Maxim, Midweek, Playboy South Africa, and SHE.

"CAPTAIN SCARLET" SERIES

Fire at Rig Fifteen, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Inferno, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Red Alert, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Race of Truth, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Renegade Rocket, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Mysteron Trap, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Place of the Angels, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Rescue from the Skies, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Spectrum Strikes Back, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Solar Flare, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Playing with Fire, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

"THUNDERBIRDS" SERIES

Countdown to Disaster, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Thunderbirds to the Rescue, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

Thunderbirds: The Ultimate Pop-up Fact Book, Boxtree (London, England), 1993.

EDITOR

Keith Faulkner, Bomber Bats and Flying Frogs, Guinness Books (New York, NY), 1986.

James Harrison, Beat the Record, Guinness Books (New York, NY), 1986.

Christopher Maynard, Apple Peelers and Coin Stackers, Guinness Books (New York, NY), 1986.

SIDELIGHTS:

Graham Marks, whose writing encompasses genres as varied as comic strips, joke collections, and science fiction, is perhaps best known in the United States for his gritty novels for young adults. Zoo, his first novel to be published in the United States, begins when teenager Cam wakes up from a coma to discover that he has been kidnapped. His escape, however, does not guarantee his safety, and he remains in hiding as he tries to figure out who is behind the crime. Frances Bradburn, writing in Booklist, praised the book as a "thrilling, multilayered" novel that is "steeped in skillful suspense."

Seb, the troubled eighteen-year-old protagonist of How It Works: Everyone Gets the Angel They Deserve, decides to turn his life around after he is nearly beaten to death by a mentally ill homeless man. When Seb wakes up in the hospital, he learns that a stranger saved him, and he sets out to find and thank this person. In Radio Radio, a group of London kids who organize a pirate radio station find themselves fighting off both rival rave promoters and law enforcement officials.

Missing in Tokyo: A Novel centers on London teenager Adam, who goes to Tokyo in search of his missing older sister. His sleuthing brings him into contact with the city's seamier elements, including drug dealers and organized crime, as well as a sexy Japanese girlfriend, Aiko. Though she noted some stock elements in the story, Jennifer Mattson wrote in Booklist that this "noir-tinged" novel will appeal to many teens who enjoy mature themes. Angela M. Boccuzzi-Reichert, in a School Library Journal review, noted that the "fast-paced, intriguing" novel offers a substantial dose of suspense.

In Omega Place, Marks tackles the theme of peer pressure and conformity, as protagonist Paul is attracted to a subversive group that wants to undermine England's policy of widespread public surveillance. "Part spy novel, part thriller," wrote a contributor to Kirkus Reviews, "this is primarily the story of a young man looking for family."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2004, Ilene Cooper, review of How It Works: Everyone Gets the Angel They Deserve, p. 340; January 1, 2005, Cindy Welch, review of Radio Radio, p. 846; September 15, 2005, Frances Bradburn, review of Zoo, p. 58; May 1, 2006, Jennifer Mattson, review of Missing in Tokyo: A Novel, p. 47; October 15, 2007, Lynn Rutan, review of Omega Place, p. 44.

Bookseller, December 20, 2002, "Teen Fiction with a Documentary Edge," p. 27.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 2005, review of Zoo, p. 793; May 1, 2006, review of Missing in Tokyo, p. 463; October 1, 2007, review of Omega Place.

Publishers Weekly, July 10, 2006, review of Missing in Tokyo, p. 83; December 10, 2007, review of Omega Place, p. 57.

School Library Journal, December, 2004, Leigh Ann Morlock, review of How It Works, p. 150; January, 2005, Jeffrey Hastings, review of Radio Radio, p. 133; October, 2005, Diane P. Tuccillo, review of Zoo, p. 166; June, 2006, Angela M. Boccuzzi-Reichert, review of Missing in Tokyo, p. 162.

Voice of Youth Advocates, August, 2005, Michele Winship, review of Zoo, p. 220.