James Leader

James Leader was born and raised in England, but left as soon as he could. Since then, he has worked in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Shortly after leaving Oxford University (where he won the Newdigate Prize for Poetry) he was invited for interview by MI6. If he had gone, he would probably now be dead, since he has no visual-spatial or mechanical intelligence.

"The Mysteries of Gogos" is his first published novel. It follows the main character, sixteen-year-old Danny Dykoff, as he comes under the spell of the charismatic Mr Gogos on a Croatian island. In 2015 and 2016 the novel was a set text for the Belgian Baccalaureate.

His second novel, "Chickendance" is about four teenage boys abandoned by American Veteran Grandpa Chickendance in darkest Normandy. On their way to Omaha Beach for the D-Day anniversary celebrations, they make some surprising discoveries about war, courage and friendship.

In April 2016 James Leader came second in the Ballymaloe International Poetry Prize, one of the most valuable single-poem competitions in the world. His poem "Phoebe and the Troopship" was chosen by judge Billy Collins.

In November 2016 James Leader won the Luxembourg National Literature Competition (worth €5000) with his most recent Young Adult novel "The Venus Zone," to be published in 2017. The Jury commended it for its "psychologically plausible characters developed in a fluent contemporary language with vivid and humorous dialogues, embedded in a captivating story. A real page turner for young adults!" The novel is about a seventeen-year-old American girl, Venus, who comes to Europe with her activist uncle ready to bring down capitalism. In the ensuing road trip through England, Belgium, Luxembourg and France Venus finds love, the moral trickiness of social justice, and a whole new continent. "The Venus Zone" was published in early 2017.