Anthony John Horowitz CBE (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter
specialising in mystery and suspense.
His works for children and young adult readers include the Alex Rider series featuring a 14-year-
old British boy who spies for MI6, The Power of Five series (known as The Gatekeepers in the
USA), and The Diamond Brothers series.
Horowitz was born in Stanmore, Middlesex, into a Jewish family, and in his early years lived an
upper middle class lifestyle. As a child, Horowitz used to go to Instow, where his nanny took him
boating on the River Torridge. He also had a stuffed monkey named Benjamin (which was later
eaten by his dog).
Horowitz attended Orley Farm School. He started writing at the age of eight or nine and he
instantly knew he would be a professional writer. This was because he was an underachiever in
school and was not physically fit, and found his escape in books and telling stories. In a 2006
interview, Horowitz stated "I was quite certain, from my earliest memory, that I would be a
professional writer and nothing but."
At age 13 he went to Rugby School, a public school, in Rugby, Warwickshire. He graduated from
the University of York with a lower second class degree in English literature and art history in
1977, where he was in Vanbrugh College.
horowitz wrote many stand-alone novels in the 1990s. His 1994 novel Granny, a comedy thriller
about an evil grandmother, was Horowitz's first book in three years, and it was the first of three
books for an audience similar to that of Groosham Grange. The second of these was The Switch,
a body swap story, first published in 1996. The third was 1997's The Devil and His Boy, which is
set in the Elizabethan era and explores the rumour of Elizabeth I's secret son.
In 1999, The Unholy Grail was published as a sequel to Groosham Grange. It was later renamed
Return to Groosham Grange in 2003, possibly to help young readers understand the connection
between the two books. In 2021, Horowitz revealed to a fan on Twitter that he had plans to
write a third book, but was dissuaded after the success of the Harry Potter series. In the same
year, Horowitz publishing a collection of several short horror stories aimed for children and
young adults, entitled Horowitz Horror (1999). This was an opportunity for Horowitz to further
explore a darker side of his writing. orowitz began his most famous and successful series in the
new millennium with the Alex Rider novels. These books are about a 14-year-old boy becoming
a spy, a member of the British Secret Service branch MI6
Horowitz was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2014 New Year
Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2022 New Year
Honours, both for services to literature. He won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Television
Episode Teleplay from Episode 1 of Magpie Murders. In 2003, he won Hampshire Book Award
for the book, Skeleton Key, part of Alex Rider, whilst getting a nomination in 2007. He has also
won Lancashire Book of the Year in 2006. For Foyle's War, there was a BAFTA Lew Grade Award
in 2003 with an additional two nominations for Best Drama Series and Best Production Design
won, and he got nominated for the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 2016 for the episode: Elise, The
Final Mystery. In 2005, Anthony Horowitz, for Stormbreaker, received a California Young Reader
Medal, Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (2004), Utah Beehive Award (2004),
Wisconsin Golden Archer Award (2003), California Young Reader Medal (2005), Iowa Teen
Award (2005), South Carolina Junior Book Award (2005).
