Paul Magrs was born in Jarrow, Tyne and Wear in 1969. He was educated in Newton Aycliffe at Woodham Burn Infants and Junior Schools, then Woodham Comprehensive, in Newton Aycliffe, before attending Lancaster University. 'Strange Boy' is his twelfth published book, although it's the first time he's written for a younger audience. He's always wanted to write the kinds of book he could never find when he was a teenager. Nowadays he is Senior Lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia.