Anthony McGowan was born in Manchester in 1965. Educated at a Catholic comprehensive, he won't say that his character's schooldays are exactly based on his own but he certainly writes from experience. Before turning to writing full-time, Anthony gained a PhD in Philosophy, worked as a nightclub bouncer, an Open University tutor, a journalist and a civil servant. He is married with two children. Henry Tumour is his second novel for teenagers, and is set in the same school as Hellbent, which was shortlisted for the 2006 Branford Boase Award.
For style and wit, it is head and shoulders above most teen fiction published this year -- Amanda Craig The Times I loved, loved, loved this book. It's vivid, it's anarchic, it's unbearably cool ... It's also very, very funny. There were moments when I had to put it down because I was howling with laughter ... And if so much hilarity weren't enough, it's also very clever -- Jill Murphy thebookbag.co.uk A book to get teenage boys reading for the hell of it ... A dark and funny book -- Phil Hogan Observer 20060723 Definitely the funniest, most obscenely wise book I have read in a long time -- Theo Temple, Booktrust Teenage Prize Judge The Times 20061028 Every writer hates to hear the words stunning new talent applied to someone else, but in the case of Anthony McGowan nothing else will do -- Meg Rosoff