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JOHN
MALAM specialises in writing non-fiction for children of
all ages. He trained as an archaeologist, and has excavated
at sites across Britain - from Orkney to Hampshire. When
the weather was too wet to dig outside, John was indoors
writing up site reports, and 'digging' around for information
buried deep inside books. For light-relief he started writing
factual articles for popular magazines. This new-found interest
eventually led him to the world of publishing. He worked
as an editor for a children's publisher, and since 1994
he has been a full-time writer of children's information
books.
He has
written more than 100 children's books, and the one he wrote
to accompany Channel 4's 'The 1940s House', about life in
Britain during World War II, reached No.2 in the children's
non-fiction charts.
John's
background in archaeology is reflected in the books he writes,
many of which are on historical themes, especially curriculum
favourites about ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Victorian
period. However, what he really wants to write about is
British prehistory - the story of our own land and those
who lived here before these islands became an outpost of
the Roman Empire. But to do that he thinks he'll have to
wait for a change in the National Curriculum, and until
that happens the mysteries of Neolithic long barrows, standing
stones, stone circles, and much much more, will remain just
that to a generation of British children - a mystery.
As well
as writing books, John reviews them, too. He is the children's
book reviewer for the Manchester Evening News, for whom
he has written a weekly column since 1997. He has also reviewed
for The Guardian.
John
lives in Cheshire, and is married with two young children.
He is a
also a governor at an infants school.
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