John Christopher (pseudonym of Christopher Samuel Youd) was born in Knowsley, Lancashire, England on April 16th1922. When he was ten his family moved to Hampshire. He was educated at Peter Symonds School in Winchester. When he was sixteen he went to work in a local government office; four years later he was in the Army, serving in the Royal Signals between 1941 and 1946. For nine years after the war he worked in an office, writing ten adult novels and a stream of science-fiction short stories for magazines.
It was 1957 before he made enough money from his typewriter to enable him to switch to full-time writing; part of the office routine stuck, as it often does with writers. He has been married twice, and has four daughters and one son from his first marriage and currently lives in Sussex, England.
He has written as Samuel Youd, Hilary Ford, William Godfrey, Peter Graaf; William Vine, Peter Nichols and Anthony Rye, as well as John Christopher.
He has several literary awards, including Rockerfeller-Atlantic award, 1946; Christopher award, for children's book, (1971); Guardian Award, for children's book, 1971; Jugendbuchpreis (Germany), 1976; George G. Stone Center for Children's Books award, 1977.