Jan Needle

Who is Jan Needle?

Jan Needle is an English author. He was born and grew up in Portsmouth on the South coast of England, coming from a family with strong naval and military connections. He has written over thirty novels, as well as books and plays for adults and children, books of criticism, cartoons and radio and television serials and series.

After studying to becoming a journalist and despite poor grades in English, he moved to the North-West of England at age 20 to work for the Daily Herald newspaper. At 25 he took a Drama degree course at Manchester University, quitting full-time journalism after working for various papers. His first novel, Albeson and the Germans, was published in 1977. His first work for television was the one-hour drama A Place of Execution.

His best-selling novel is The Bully which has been translated into multiple languages and is a set text in schools in South America. The Times Education Supplement said it "avoids the glib answers of formulaic fiction". The TES also recommended it for classroom use to tackle the topic of bullying.