Craig Scutt

Craig Scutt is a freelance writer. He spends most of his life typing words into a computer. Most of the rest of his life he spends talking to amazing people who tell him about their amazing lives so he can type words describing their amazingness into a computer. The remainder of the rest of his life is his personal life, which is a secret because it's personal.

Mary Bryant is Craig’s first book. He has written other stuff but nothing as cool as Mary Bryant. That’s because Mary is the coolest. For a while it seemed that writing this book took up every second of Craig’s life but it was worth it because of Mary's extraordinary “coolaciousness”, which is a made-up word meaning “coolio”, which is another word that isn’t supposed to exist but it does.

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Frequently asked questions

How many books have you written?
Mary Bryant is my first.

When did you start writing?
I don’t remember, possibly when I was about 10. Before that I used to draw a lot. Mostly aliens and police cars chasing robbers.

Why do you like to write books for children?
Because children are cleverer than adults and less weird than Saturnians.

Where do you get your ideas from?
The best ones just pop into my head. Usually when I'm washing the dishes.

Are the characters in your books based on real people?
Yes.

Who are your favourite writers/illustrators? And favourite books?
Some of my favourites are The History of Mr Polly by H.G. Wells, The Onion Eaters by J.P. Donleavy, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds by Charles Mackay, Praxis by Fay Weldon, and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend. I have a sneaking suspicion that the coolest illustrator in the world is Sebastian Ciaffaglione who just happens to be the talented artist who did the cover for Mary Bryant.

What do you use to write your books?
Most of the time I write using the computer. This is supplemented by hundreds of little handwritten notes that I like to spread very neatly over the whole house.

What were you like at school?
I like to think I was a model student but you if you want the truth then you'd have to ask my teachers!

What is your favourite food?
Banana and mayonnaise sandwiches.

What are your hobbies?
Anything involving water except for drowning or getting caught in an avalanche.

Do you have any pets?
No, but I love animals.

What is your most treasured possession?
My teeth. Although I'm looking forward to having removeable dentures that I can leave in tea cups at strangers' houses when I'm old.

If you weren't a writer, what would you be?
I would be the person who paints the lines in the middle of the road.