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John Peel is an accomplished and beloved author who has published an extraordinary number of books over the decades, going all the way back to the original Doctor Who series, which he has written many tie-in books for. He’s also done novelizations of and tie-ins for plenty of other major franchises, including Star Trek and James Bond. However, to me, he will always be one of the top old-school kidlit authors, having written a variety of highly imaginative and enduring horror and fantasy series for young readers, which I still enjoy even now in my 40s. He was one of my earliest childhood inspirations when I first started writing my own horror and fantasy stories long ago, and it was an absolute pleasure to connect with him today to discuss his many, many years in the publishing world.
Links
John’s latest book, Unstoppable, has just been released.
You can check out lots of his other work here.
And some of his Doctor Who audiobooks as well:
My personal favorites are the Foul Play books, the Diadem series, the Dragonhome trilogy (aka Jane Eyre with dragons), and the Shockers books.
Enjoy!
Protect this wonderful man at all costs!
Aw the way he talks about writing always puts the biggest smile on my face. You can feel how much he loves his work and how lucky he feels to be doing what he’s doing for so long, and it’s beautiful.
dude I’d give an arm for an interview with Peel, Stine, Pike, and Alvin Schwartz if he was still with us. Can you even imagine how trippy that ensemble would be?
Will you do more of these? This was really nice.
What a great start to the new show!
Is there any chance we’ll get another volume of Dragonhome someday? I know it’s been ages but if other authors can pick older series back up after a decade or two, then it’s possible!
Just finished this first episode and looking forward to more. Do you have other people lined up?
Oh i love this guy! I’m in my 40’s and I still read Diadem from time to time
Very much enjoyed this one and now interested in seeing who else you’ve got planned.
I was just the same: health issues as a kid, couldn’t play sports, basically just sat in the library reading during recess and lunch all through school, disappearing into this or that book. Relatable!
Ugh it makes me so mad that he had to fight with his Foul Play editor so much just to tell his story the way he wanted but they’re still amazing books!
I’m an aspiring writer and the way John talks about his work is what I’m hoping to have someday. He’s so inspiring! It’s good to hear how much he loves his job even after so many decades.
Do more of these please! You mentioned Bruce Coville, so maybe him next?
I enjoyed the hell out of this. Following in hopes of another episode soon.
Wonderful podcast premiere! I wish you’d gotten to talk more about AI because that’s a major topic of interest right now and you’ve clearly got strong feelings about it. Spreading awareness is the first step!
I didnt know Terry Nation specifically chose him for the dalek books. That’s kind of awesome.
He seems incredibly sweet and likeable, which makes me happy since I read so many of his books back in the day