Author: Piers Torday

Piers Torday is an award winning and best selling writer for children, whose work has been translated into 14 languages and adapted for the stage. Books include The Last Wild trilogy (Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize), There May Be a Castle and The Lost Magician series (Teach Primary Book Award). Plays include The Box of Delights and Christmas Carol (Wilton’s Music Hall). He co-founded the Paul Torday Memorial Prize for Debut Novelists Over 60 and has been a judge for the Guardian Prize, the British Book Awards and the Costa Book Awards. His latest book is The Wild Before.

The Box of Delights – world premiere announced

Posted on July 3, 2017 by Piers Torday - Plays

‘John Masefield’s The Box of Delights is one of the true classics. It has all the magic, adventure, threat, enchantment & excitement of the best tales for children of all ages. I remember wriggling with pleasure when I first read it and I couldn’t be more excited that such a talented team is bringing it to life for a new generation – and at Wilton’s – wonderful!’

STEPHEN FRY

I am delighted to tell you that Wilton’s Music Hall (the oldest music hall in the world), has invited me to adapt the former Poet Laureate John Masefields’ Christmas classic, The Box of Delights, for the international stage premiere this festive season. (30th December 2017 – 6th January 2018).

I grew up on this story, both in book form and the wonderful BBC TV adaptation, and it has been a thrill to bring it to life for a whole new audience. Full of enchanting stage magic, here is a reminder of why this is one of the best Christmas tales ever…

Kay Harker is on the train home from school for the holidays. But this Christmas will be different. His parents are dead, and the wolves are running… He meets an aged magician, Cole Hawlings, who charges him with protecting his wondrous Box of Delights, a device of great power. But when the old man mysteriously disappears, Kay faces the fight of his life to protect the Box, and with it, the people he loves. For Cole’s nemesis, the wicked sorcerer Abner Brown will stop at nothing to get his hands on the Box.

For me, The Box of Delights is a magical and festive adventure like no other in which one boy must enlist the help of the heroes of the past, to defeat the evil in his present. The very future of Christmas itself depends upon him…

I’m very excited to be working with an incredible team. The show will be directed by Justin Audibert (Royal Shakespeare Company; National Theatre), designed by Tom Piper (Olivier-Award winning and designer of Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red poppy installation at the Tower of London), with movement direction from Simon Pittman. Lighting is by Anna Watson, sound and music by Ed Lewis, and video by Nina Dunn.

Tickets are now on sale, with some limited but special offers for schools and group bookings still available.

It’s going to be a magical winter – hope to see you there!

The Wild Beyond shortlisted for Islington Book Award

Posted on February 21, 2017 by Piers Torday - Awards, Books

I was so proud to go to the Arsenal Emirates Stadium this afternoon, for a vey special ceremony, with hundreds of local Islington school children – the first ever Islington Primary Schools Book of the Year Award!

Created by the amazing team at Islington Libraries, using a road map reading ladder, this prize has got thousands of children reading dozens of truly amazing books. And I got to meet some of the amazing authors also shortlisted at the ceremony today – Pamela Butchart, Shane Hegarty, and Susan Moore! Pamela won, deservedly so, for her brilliant “Attack of the Demon Dinner Ladies” – which is also illustrated by Thomas Flintham who illustrated The Wild Books.

It was particularly special for me as until two years ago, I had lived in Islington all my adult life, and all of the Wild books were written there – just a few minutes away from the Stadium!

A Wisp of Wisdom raises £13,000 for Cameroon children

Posted on January 5, 2017 by Piers Torday - Books, Short Stories

Very proud that, thanks to Tom Moorhouse and Lantana Publishing, our collection of African short stories, “Wisp of Wisdom: Animal Tales from the Cameroon”, has raised over £13,000 which will help put books into the hands of children who have none. And it’s in no small part down to your generosity – so thank you from all of us.

Visit Kester’s room in Spectrum Hall

Posted on March 11, 2016 by Piers Torday - Books, Exhibitions

Well, nearly. I can’t quite believe I am writing this, but I just returned from the most surreal but wondrous visit to the fantastic Story Museum in Oxford, and their fantastic new “Animal: A safari through stories” exhibition – featuring The Last Wild!

The show takes a very imaginative and comprehensvie look at all the different ways animals appear in stories – from Greek myths and African folktales to Wallace and Gromit and Maus. In keeping with their belief in the magic of stories, the Story of Museum has created their own incredible set of illusions.

I hid in the Master’s wardrobe at Jordan College with Lyra and Pan, looking at the Northern Lights, wandered over the warrens of Watership Down, nosed about War Horse’s stable and – this is where it got really magical for me…I went into Kester’s room at Spectrum Hall. And you can too! There is a stunning recreation of his room at the moment the pigeons and cockroaches come to rescue him. You can meet the General, lie on Kester’s bed and imagine what it would feel like to be him… There is also a great game you can play built around finding a cure for the Last Wild.

There are also many other brilliant recreations of scenes and characters from other contemporary books – Gill Lewis’ Moon Bear is there, as are Katherine Rundell’s wolves, Tom Moorhouse’s voles – with their own board game!- and you can even throw a shadow like SF Said’s Varjak Paw.

Please go if you can. It’s an amazing day out, and as a new museum, the Story Museum needs the support of keen young readers.

And find out more about their spectacular “Animal” exhibition here...