Philip Reeve

Philip Reeve (born 28 February 1966) is an English author and illustrator of children's books, primarily known for the 2001 book Mortal Engines and its sequels (the 2001 to 2006 Mortal Engines Quartet). His 2007 novel, Here Lies Arthur, based on the legendary King Arthur, won the Carnegie Medal.

Born on 28 February 1966 in Brighton, Reeve studied illustration, first at Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology (CCAT – now Anglia Ruskin University), where he contributed a comic strip to the Student Union magazine, and later at Brighton Polytechnic (now the University of Brighton). Before becoming an illustrator he worked at a bookshop in Brighton for several years. During his student years and for a few years afterwards he wrote for and performed in comedy sketch shows with a variety of collaborators under various group names, among them The Charles Atlas Sisters. He lives on Dartmoor with his wife Sarah Reeve and their son Sam.

With Brian Mitchell, Reeve is the author of a 1998 dystopian comic musical, The Ministry of Biscuits. "Stop! Think before you eat that biscuit! Is it in any way fancy? If so, then you are a criminal! In Post-War London, The Ministry of Biscuits casts its sinister shadow over every tea-time and elevenses in the land. Established to 'control biscuits, and to control the idea of biscuits', it prohibits decadent sweetmeats, such as the Gypsy Cream." This was performed at the Pavilion Theatre, Brighton, the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, and the 1999 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It underwent a revival in 2005 at the Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton, and began playing at Brighton's Lantern Theatre in November 2017. It has also toured to various other locations throughout the United Kingdom.

Mitchell and Reeves also wrote the musical Lord God together.

Reeve provided cartoons for books, including those in the Horrible Histories and Murderous Maths series. He wrote the Buster Bayliss series of books for young readers, which includes Night of the Living Veg, The Big Freeze, Day of the Hamster, and Custardfinger. He is the author and illustrator of a Dead Famous non-fiction book: Horatio Nelson and His Victory.

Reeve's first book for older readers was Mortal Engines, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize in age category 9–11 years and made the Whitbread Book Award shortlist. Mortal Engines is the first book in a series sometimes called the Mortal Engines Quartet (2001–2006), which includes Predator's Gold, Infernal Devices and A Darkling Plain. The books feature two young adventurers, Tom Natsworthy and Hester Shaw, living in a lawless post-apocalyptic world inhabited by moving cities. For the fourth volume, Reeve won the once-in-a-lifetime 2006 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, judged by a panel of British children's writers.

Reeve claims not to be a methodical writer. He plans nothing at all, usually starting with an opening image, a closing image, and a few vague notions for the things that happen in between. This leads to thousands of words of rough draft material being abandoned – even entire novels, such as with Fever Crumb and Mortal Engines. However, he takes ideas from these abandoned drafts to build the final version. It usually takes him a year to move a novel from first idea to publication – six months actively writing it, the rest editing and thinking.

Mortal Engines Quartet, called Hungry City Chronicles in the United States:

Traction City (World Book Day, 2011), a novella, rewritten as "Traction City Blues" short story

The Traction Codex: An Historian's Guide to the Era of Predator Cities (2012), with Jeremy Levett, guide

Night Flights: A Mortal Engines Collection (2018), illustrated by Ian McQue, prequel, collection of 3 short stories:

"Frozen Heart", "Traction City Blues", "Teeth of the Sea"

"Doctor Who: The Roots of Evil" (2013), No. 4 from Doctor Who 50th Anniversary E-Shorts series

Goblins series (page decorations by Dave Semple)

Reeve & McIntyre Production series, published in the US as A Not-So-Impossible Tale (written together with, and illustrated by Sarah McIntyre):

Oliver and the Seawigs (2013), published in the US as Oliver and the Sea Monkeys

Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair (2016), published in the US as Carnival in a Fix

Roly-Poly Flying Pony series with co-author Sarah McIntyre:

Horatio Nelson and His Victory (2003), history, from Dead Famous series

Murderous Maths series (from 1997), by Kjartan Poskitt

Isaac Newton and His Apple (1999), by Kjartan Poskitt

The Incredible Incas (2000), by Terry Deary

Pantsacadabra! (2006), by Kjartan Poskitt

Urgum the Axeman (2006), by Kjartan Poskitt

Mortal Engines (2018), film directed by Christian Rivers, based on the novel Mortal Engines

Goblins (TBA), an upcoming Laika film directed by Mark Gustafson, Based on the novel Goblins