Andy Blackford

Andy Blackford left Oxford University with a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics. His parents were bitterly disappointed when he joined a rock band. Unfortunately, so was the record-buying public.

He pursued a zig-zag career as music journalist, professional skateboarder, A&R man, music publisher and, eventually, advertising copywriter.

He worked for most of the big London agencies as a writer and Creative Director, penning such unforgettable lines as, Um Bongo, Um Bongo, they drink it in the Congo.

He has written over twenty books for younger children, not to mention a biography of The Animals and a novel (Accrual World) in which a chartered accountant saves the United Kingdom from an evil autocrat.

With his erstwhile Literature teacher, he won the Sentinel Poetry Book Prize in 2015.

Until recently he worked as a Buddhist prison chaplain. Some of his best friends are murderers.