SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: IT’S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 6/8/1962
WEBSITE: http://www.janandrewhenderson.com/
CITY: Brisbane
STATE:
COUNTRY: Australia
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: SATA 261
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blast/writing/people/ja_henderson.shtml
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born Andrew Martin Henderson, June 8, 1962, in Dundee, Scotland; children: Charlie, Harper, Scarlet.
EDUCATION:Attended Napier University; Edinburgh University, M.A., 1987.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Witherbee Children’s Theatre, New York, NY, worked various positions, 1989-94; Black Hart Entertainment (ghost tour company), Edinburgh, Scotland, founder and proprietor, beginning 1998; formerly worked as a financial consultant, tour guide, muralist, and playwright/actor/director at a children’s theatre in New York, NY.
AWARDS:Royal Mail Award, Waterstone Award shortlist for Best Children’s Book, Angus Book Award shortlist, Falkirk Prize shortlist, and Stockport Book Award shortlist, all 2008, all for Bunker 10; Royal Mail Award shortlist, Angus Book Award shortlist, Manchester Book Award shortlist, and Boltona Book Award shortlist, all c. 2008, all for Crash; Doncaster Children’s Book Award, 2010, and Leeds Book Award shortlist, both for Colony.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Scottish-born writer J.A. Henderson came to writing after working at a range of jobs, from financial consultant to tour guide and muralist. When Henderson’s son was born, he decided begin writing children’s novels, specializing in thrillers and dark stories. His first books for children, the novels Secret City and Hunting Charlie Wilson have been followed by darker stories aimed at older readers, such as Bunker 10, Crash, and Colony.
Henderson took an early interest in writing and drama and during college he studied journalism, English, and philosophy on his way to earning a master of arts degree. Pursuing his interest in the theatre, he combined travel with work writing and producing plays in a number of locations: Texas, as part of a children’s theater program in New York City, and even at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival. Settling back in Edinburgh, Henderson founded a ghost tour company, Black Hart Entertainment, and the knowledge he gained in this area inspired him to write nonfiction books such as The Town below the Ground: Edinburgh’s Legendary Underground City, The Ghost That Haunted Itself: The Story of the McKenzie Poltergeist, and Edinburgh: City of the Dead.
In Bunker 10 Henderson introduces Jimmy Hicks, an abnormally intelligent teen who fails to fly under the radar of the U.S. military. Recruited for his brain power, Jimmy soon finds himself on a secret military base hidden in the middle of a forest. Along with an assortment of military personnel, he meets six other teenagers with unusually high intelligence quotients (IQs). As the seven teens become friends, Jimmy becomes particularly close to a girl named Leslie. Hoping to go on an actual date, the two teenagers arrange to escape by using their evolved intellects to discover a way to travel through time. Their plans are derailed when a meltdown occurs in an area called Bunker 10 and a mutant gene infects the youngest teenager in their group. As this girl suddenly becomes obsessed with escape so that she can spread the virus, the other six friends must team up with the military as the only way to stop her.
Todd Morning, in a review for Booklist, noted of Bunker 10 that “its technothriller elements are certain to attract a readership,” while in School Library Journal Anthony C. Doyle predicted that “computer and gaming enthusiasts will tear through this one and ask for more.” “Every now and then a book comes along wherein the reader is genuinely surprised by a shocking development halfway through,” noted a Kirkus Reviews contributor, declaring Bunker 10 to be one such work.
(open new)Henderson published It’s Only the End of the World in 2018. Scottish teenager Charlie Ray has lived a normal life, never believing that he was anything but ordinary. The only odd thing that happened to him was when his father, Gerry, abandoned him and his mother. One night, though, a young girl named Daffodil McNugget comes out from Charlie’s closet with a message from his father. Charlie learns that his parents are computer hackers who would raid large corporations and leak scandalous documents about these companies. But Gerry got mixed up in a deal that went sour. Manticorps developed an artificial intelligence program named Frankie that developed many dangerous weapons for sale. Gerry deleted Manticorps’s research on this program but left a trail that sent him on the run. With Daffodil and Frankie’s help, Charlie must help his father and set things right. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews found that “while it may not be a beacon of originality, it’s still a lot of fun.” The same reviewer called it “a sharply built adventure with engaging characters.”(close new)
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, October 1, 2007, Todd Morning, review of Bunker 10, p. 4.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, December 1, 2007, April Spisak, review of Bunker 10, p. 173.
Kirkus Reviews, October 1, 2007, review of Bunker 10; October 1, 2018, review of It’s Only the End of the World.
Kliatt, November 1, 2007, Paula Rohrlick, review of Bunker 10, p. 10.
School Librarian, June 22, 2006, Rachel Ayers Nelson, review of Hunting Charlie Wilson, p. 89; March 22, 2009, Liz Smith, review of Colony, p. 52.
School Library Journal, January 1, 2008, Anthony C. Doyle, review of Bunker 10, p. 120.
Voice of Youth Advocates, October 1, 2007, Lynne Farrell Stover, review of Bunker 10, p. 352.
ONLINE
British Broadcasting Corporation website, http://www.bbc.co.uk/ (October 5, 2008), author interview.
J.A. Henderson website, http://www.janandrewhenderson.com (January 1, 2019).
Scottish Book Trust website, http://www.scottishbooktrust.com/ (January 1, 2019), author profile.
J. A. Henderson is an award-winning author of fiction, and non-fiction, for children and young adults. Originally from Dundee, Scotland, he now splits his time between Brisbane, Australia and Edinburgh, Scotland, where he runs the award-winning �City of the Dead� ghost tours. Jan won a Royal Mail Book Award for teen thriller Bunker 10.
About J. A. Henderson
'Writes the kind of thrillers that make you miss your stop on the bus' - Times Educational Supplement.
'One of the UK's most promising children's writers' - Edinburgh Evening News
J.A. Henderson (Jan-Andrew Henderson) lives in Brisbane, Australia and Edinburgh, Scotland where he runs City of the Dead Ghost Tours - which requires him to look moody and wear black a lot. He is the author of 22 fiction and non-fiction books and has been published in the UK, USA, Canada, The Czech Republic and Germany.
His books have been shortlisted for twelve literary awards and is the winner of the Royal Mail Award and the Doncaster Book Prize. He is currently represented by the Ann Clark Literary agency.
His next teenage thriller 'The Armageddon Twins' will be published in 2018 by Floris Books.
http://www.janandrewhenderson.com
Born in 1962, Andrew Henderson was brought up in Dundee and Kirriemuir, Scotland. He is known as Jan for reasons that will probably never become clear.
He studied journalism at Napier University before gaining an M.A. in English and Philosophy from Edinburgh University in 1987. Then he got a job as a dishwasher. On holiday in the USA, he threw away his return ticket and spent the next seven years in the states. A dazzling series of career moves followed – including financial consultant, pen engraver, factory worker, hospital domestic, graphic artist, cocktail barman, rubber stamp designer, script reader, call centre worker, pepper salesman, muralist, Easter bunny, balloon decorator, actor/writer/director at a children’s theatre in New York State, French waiter (complete with fake accent) in New York City and van driver in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains (despite never having sat behind a wheel before). He eventually ended up in a pornography store in Texas (working, not starring). During this time he wrote and performed several plays, which met with decreasing financial and critical success.
Returning to Edinburgh in 1999, he founded (and still runs) a ghost tour company called City of the Dead – which requires him to wear black continuously. City of the Dead explores Edinburgh’s legendary Underground City and investigates the infamous MacKenzie Poltergeist in a locked section of Greyfriars Graveyard – the best documented paranormal case of all time. He also began writing books which, fortunately, did much better than his plays. He is now on number 23 and has been published in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany and the Czech Republic (yes, really). His last three YA thrillers were shortlisted for a total of twelve awards and he is the winner of the Royal Mail Award and the Doncaster Book Prize.
He now lives in Brisbane, Australia with his partner, Siobhan, and his children – Charlie, Harper and Scarlet.
J.A. Henderson lives in Edinburgh where he runs City of the Dead Ghost Tours – which requires him to look moody and wear black a lot. After writing several non fiction and children’s books, he turned to teenage thrillers.
He specialises in dark and twisted plots that don’t go where the reader expects. Unless they expect the worst . . .
Collectively his titles have been shortlisted for nine book awards including the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize and the Angus Book Award.
For more information, on J.A. Henderson, visit his website.
Jan-Andrew (J A ) Henderson
Biography
J.A. Henderson (Jan-Andrew Henderson) divides his time between Brisbane, Australia and Edinburgh, Scotland. There, he runs ‘City of the Dead’ ghost tours – which requires him to look moody and wear black a lot.
He lived in the USA for several years, where he wrote, acting in and directed plays, he returned to Scotland and began writing non fiction books, children’s novels and young adult thrillers.
He is the author of 22 books and has been published in the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Australia and the Czech Republic.
About writer's work
Children’s novels and young adult thrillers. Shortlisted for 13 literary awards and winner of the Doncaster and Royal Mail Awards. Signed to the Anne Clark Literary Agency. Specialises in twists the reader doesn’t see coming, strong female characters and lots of black humour.
Websites featuring the author
Black Hart Entertainment
Website
Facebook
City of the Dead Tours
Current events and projects
Available for readings and residencies for teens.
Sarah Culshaw, Librarian, Elfed High School, Wales - 'J A Henderson visited our school as part of a scheme to enthuse reluctant boy readers in lower school and he certainly did that! The boys were mesmerised by his stories.’
H. Glenrothes High School - ‘I wanted to let you know I really enjoyed listening to your journey on becoming a writer. Wow, it was hilarious. I’m going to sit and come up with a brilliant idea.’
D. Elfed High School - ‘Really good, interesting and the funniest day of my life! Your adventures have made me want to be an author!’
H. H. Lasswade High School - ‘My friend and I thought we were going to listen to a boring writer that talked for hours in an expressionless voice. We were wrong. Your talk was brilliant…. I think you gave us great advice.’
M. Lasswade High School - ‘You single handedly have inspired me in a way I cannot describe’
Other work
"Christmas Day in the Morning". Contributed to Ah Dinnae Ken story compilation. Merchiston Publishing 2014
Founder/director of Black Hart Entertainment. Walking tours, corporate and school events and retail.
Television and radio appearances, including Fox Cannel, Discovery Channel, History Channel, BBC Television, Scottish Television, ITV, Living TV, Canadian, Polish, French and Japanese National Television, BBC Radio Scotland, Radio Forth, BBC Radio 1, and BBC Radio 4.
Historical lectures. Literary and storytelling workshops.
Directing, acting, set design, lighting, construction and scene painting. Co-wrote and ran weekly cabaret and conducted storytelling, writing and drama workshops. Witherbee Children’s Theatre, New York 1989-1994.
Henderson, J.A.: IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD
Kirkus Reviews. (Oct. 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Henderson, J.A. IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD Kelpies (Children's Fiction) $9.95 11, 6 ISBN: 978-1-782505-17-4
An everyday kid discovers shocking family secrets.
Scottish teen Charlie Ray never thought of himself as anything out of the ordinary. The most unusual thing to happen to him in the past few months was his father's walking out on him and his mom. But one night a strange girl emerges from Charlie's closet, calling herself Daffodil McNugget and claiming to have a message from Charlie's father. Gerry is revealed to be a retired computer hacker. In fact, both Charlie's parents were highly paid corporate raiders who would break into big corporations and anonymously leak scandalous information about them to the press. Gerry was recently drawn out of retirement for a job gone wrong: The elusive Manticorps created "Frankie," artificial intelligence that developed all sorts of deadly weapons to sell. Gerry reprogrammed Frankie and deleted the corporation's research but left too much of a trail and had to go on the run. Now it's up to Charlie, Daffodil, and Frankie to clean up the mess. The ensuing adventure is a whirlwind of action and breathless exposition that moves the novel along nicely. The characters pop well enough, given just enough shading to come off as more than two-fisted pulp heroes. While it may not be a beacon of originality, it's still a lot of fun. Characters are assumed white.
A sharply built adventure with engaging characters. (Thriller. 10-14)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Henderson, J.A.: IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A556119014/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cbd608e4. Accessed 18 Nov. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A556119014