About Piers

I was born in 1974 in Northumberland, possibly the one part of England where it is said more animals live than people… Before writing books, I worked as a producer in theatre and television, helping other people tell stories.

My first children’s book, The Last Wild, was published in 2013 by Quercus Children’s. It was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and has been published in 14 other countries, including the USA and China. A stage adaptation by Jude Christian, directed by Rachel Bagshaw, produced by the Unicorn Theatre and the National Theatre, will open at the Unicorn in February 2027 before touring schools and venues nationwide.

In 2013, I also married Will Tosh, who is Director of Education, Higher Education & Research at Shakespeare’s Globe in London.

The sequel to The Last Wild, The Dark Wild, was released in 2014 (Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize). The third book in the series, The Wild Beyond, was released in 2015 and was shortlisted for Islington Book of the Year. The fourth and final book, The Wild Before, appeared in 2021.

After my father Paul, died in 2013, I found his last unfinished novel amongst his papers. With the agreement of my brother and his agent and editor, I finished the book for him, and The Death of an Owl was published in 2016 by W&N.

My fourth book for children, There May Be A Castle, was published that Christmas. It was a Children’s Book of the Year in The Times and was adapted for the stage by Barb Jungr and Sam Lane at the Little Angel Theatre.

You can read short stories and articles by me in Winter Magic, Wisp of Wisdom,  Return to Wonderland, and  The Book of Hopes. 

I have been a judge for the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Costa Book Awards, the British Book Awards, the Book Trust Lifetime Achievement Award, and I sat on the selection panel for the fourth Irish Laureate for Fiction.

With my brother Nick, I co-founded the Paul Torday Memorial Prize for Debut Authors over 60 in collaboration with the Society of Authors, which ran for six years.

Like many writers, I also spend a lot of time teaching writing. If you would like to learn how to write your own children’s book or play, why not check out my Domestika courses? Or join The Novelry, where I tutor and coach children’s fiction.

My world premiere adaptation of John Masefield’s The Box of Delights opened at Wilton’s Music Hall in Christmas 2017. It was directed by Justin Audibert, designed by Tom Piper, and starred Matthew Kelly and Josefina Gabrielle. The production was revived for a second time in Christmas 2018, and a third revival production for the RSC at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opened in October 2023.

Other plays include Christmas Carol, featuring the first ever female Scrooge on the London stage, and The Child in the Snow, based on Elizabeth Gaskell’s ghost story, “The Old Nurse’s Tale” and The Wind in the Willows Wilton’s.  I am delighted to be an Associate Artist at Wilton’s. Plum: a Homage to Happiness, celebrating the life and work of P.G. Wodehouse, was presented there in May 2025, hosted by Sir Stephen Fry, with Alexander Armstrong and Stephen Mangan, directed by Amy Lane.

Midnight Treasure, the first part of a brand new fantasy duology about vampirs, werwolves and treasure, was the New Statesman Children’s Book of the Year 2024 and a Children’s Book of the Year in six national publications, including The Times and Daily Mail. The follow-up, Wolf Crown, will be published in October 2025.

My latest book is Letters to a Dog, my first short book for the dyslexia-friendly publisher Barrington Stoke, published in May 2025 and illustrated by Alice McKinley.

I am also currently working on the next book, but I spend most of my time wrangling our very naughty but adorable dog, Huxley.