Robert Dodds
Email:
mail@robertdodds.comWebsite:
www.robertdodds.comBRAW network:
yesLL funded:
yesBiography:
Robert Dodds was born in England and grew up in Yorkshire and Kent with his parents, a neurotic dog, and a tortoise. He went to Oxford University to study English and play golf, and then became a teacher. After a few years working in England, Mexico, and the USA, he settled in Edinburgh. By this time he was a filmmaker as well as a teacher, and he set up a new degree course in film and television production at Edinburgh College of Art in the late 1980s. As well as a variety of work for television, radio, and theatre, Robert has had eight books published. About writer's work:
For adults:
‘Rattlesnake and Other Tales’, a collection of short stories published in 2001 by Polygon
‘Sitting Duck’, a comic novel, published on Amazon Kindle in 2011.
‘Not a whodunnit, but a who’ll-do-it!’ Lucky Jim meets The Beach: a pacy, comic novel with a sting in the tail.
I’ve also had nine of my stories broadcast on BBC Radio Four, and have abridged Playback (Raymond Chandler), Home is the Sailor (Jorge Amado) and The Secret of Iguando (my own novel) for BBC Radio Four. I have written and directed a number of short films shown on television and at film festivals, and had a stage play produced by professional company Oxygen House.
For children:
‘The Midnight Clowns’ (Andersen Press, 2000).
“What would you do if a sinister troupe of supernatural clowns had picked you out as their next victim? That’s the terrifying plight that faces Ben Swift and his sister Claire. If they can’t find a way to outwit their pursuers, Ben will be forced to drink the clowns’ magic blue potion – with terrible consequences!”
‘Nightland’ (Andersen Press, 2002)
“Another world lying unsuspected on the fringes of our own. A place where people can disappear. Do you dare to cross the boundary and find out what lies beyond?”
‘The Secret of Iguando’ (Andersen Press, 2004)
“Deep in a remote jungle region of Mexico, something supernatural is stirring, disturbed by a party of zoologists. Ben and Claire Swift are there with their father. They are the only ones who realise the danger that threatens them all.”
‘The Murrian’ (Andersen Press, 2008)
“Antmouth is said to be haunted by the shosts of smugglers, but Ben and Claire are more alarmed by the peculiar living residents. Who are the fish-eyed golfers who seem to be spying on them? Why do people keep vanishing? Once again, the thin curtain of normality is ripped aside in this fourth Ben and Claire Swift thriller, plunging the reader into a bizarre world of hidden terror.”
‘The Haunted Mobile’ (A&C Black ‘Wired’ series, 2011)
Strange messages on a mobile phone lure Jake to a sinister fate.
‘Pitch Dark’ (A&C Black ‘Wired’ series, 2012)
A footballing story with a dark and ghostly twist.
About writer's events and projects:
I have lots of experience in giving talks and readings to adults and children, and also running writing workshops for all age groups (including screenwriting). Between April and October is the best time to catch me.
Language:
EnglishAge groups:
9-12, Teens, AdultsBooks written
Thirteen year old Claire Swift is intrigued by Aidan, an Irish boy who is new to her school. He has a secret which he eventually shares with her - at night, he cycles into another world, one which ...
Jake's mobile is going wrong. It's sending weird texts to his friends. Then they start appearing on his phone - from himself. Then the voice messages begin. A girl is trapped in a storm drain, ...
What would you do if a sinister troupe of supernatural clowns had picked you out as their next victim? That's the terrifying plight that faces Ben Swift and his sister Claire. If they can't find a ...
Ben and Clare are staying with Aunt Gwen in Antmouth for the summer. They've been told the coast there is haunted by the ghosts of smugglers, but they are soon much more alarmed by the living ...
Clare and her brother are used to strange animals as their father is a zoo vet. When he gets the chance to join an expedition in an unexplored part of the Mexican Jungle they are very excited even ...
