John Fardell

(born 1967 -) - Edinburgh

John Fardell was brought up in the countryside near Bristol, and has lived in Edinburgh since 1992. He is the author of two very well received children’s books, The Seven Professors of the Far North (2004) and The Flight of the Silver Turtle (2006), both published by Faber and Faber.

For the past seventeen years, John has mostly made his living as a cartoonist. His cartoons have appeared in various publications, including the Independent, the List, the Herald, the New Statesman, and Property Week; but it is his work for the adult comic Viz for which he is best known. John is the creator, writer and illustrator of ‘The Modern Parents’, ‘The Critics’, ‘Ferdinand The Foodie’, and a few others. His strips have appeared in Viz since the early nineties and generally tend to feature repulsively self-righteous and pretentious characters.

In addition to his cartoon and illustration work, John has also been involved in puppet theatre work from time to time, since the mid 1990s.

It was a chance meeting at the Edinburgh Book Festival in 2001 with Suzy Jenvey – the editorial director of Faber Children’s Books, and a Viz fan - that spurred John into writing his first children's novel. John now spends most of his working time concentrating on writing and illustrating his novels, though still continues to produce some cartoon work, including strips for most issues of Viz. He works in a converted garage at his home in Corstorphine, Edinburgh, where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Bibliography

• The 7 Professors of the Far North - 2004
• The Flight of the Silver Turtle - 2006
• Manfred the Baddie - 2008