Early Riser (Fforde) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—January 11, 1961
• Where—Brecon, Powys, Wales, UK
• Education—left school at 18
• Awards—Wodehouse Prize
• Currently—lives in London, England


Jasper Fforde is a British novelist, who was born in London as the son of John Standish Fforde, the 24th Chief Cashier for the Bank of England—whose signature appeared on sterling banknotes during his time in office.

Fforde was educated at the progressive Dartington Hall School. His first jobs after school were as a focus puller in the film industry, where he worked on a such films as The Trial, Quills, GoldenEye, and Entrapment.

Fforde was also writing, and after 17 rejections he finally published his first novel in 2001, The Eyre Affair. That novel became the basis for the well-known mystery/crime series named for detective Thursday Next. He wrote six more in that series, ending in 2012 with The Woman Who Died a Lot.

The third mystery in the "Thursday Next" series, The Well of Lost Plots, earned Fforde the 2004 Wodehouse Prize for comic fiction. The series is so beloved that a number of streets in Swindon (southwest England) have been named after characters from the books.

Fforde's other works include two books in the loosely connected "Nursery Crime" series, one book (so far) in the "Shades of Grey" series, and three in the "Dragon Slayer" series, young adult fantasy novels. In 2019 he released his first stand-alone novel, Early Riser.

All of his works contain a profusion of literary allusions and wordplay, tightly scripted plots, and playfulness with the conventions of traditional genres. They also contain elements of metafiction, parody, and fantasy.

Extras facts
Fforde has an interest in aviation and owns and flies a Rearwin Skyranger.

Starting in 2005, Fforde's hometown of Swindon has held an annual "Fforde Fiesta" (think Ford Fiesta ), an event built around Fforde's books. Attended by fans from as far away as Australia and the U.S., attendees take part in a variety of events, including a re-enactment of the game show, "Name That Fruit," the "Hamlet Speed Reading" competition, and interactive performances of Richard III. (Author bio adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 2/15/2019.)