Chris Bradford biography

Chris Bradford lives an action packed life and is a self-confessed adrenaline junkie. He’s thrown himself over Victoria Falls on a bungee cord, out of an airplane in New Zealand and off a French mountain on a paraglider, but he’s always managed to land safely – something he learnt from his martial arts training…

Chris joined a Judo club aged seven and since then he has trained in karate, kickboxing, samurai swordsmanship and has earned his black belt in Tai-jutsu, the fighting art of the ninja. Chris is a student of Sensei Akemi Solloway, who is the eldest daughter of an old samurai family, descended from the Karo of Iwatsuki Castle, near Tokyo.

Young Samurai was inspired by Chris’s passion for martial arts and a desire to share the positive influence it has had on his life, as well as his love of Japanese culture.

Before writing the Young Samurai series, Chris was a professional musician and songwriter. He’s even performed for her HRH Queen Elisabeth II (but suspects she found his bad a bit noisy).

Chris lives on the South Downs with his wife and two cats called Tigger and Rhubarb.

Chris Bradford books

• Young Samurai: The Way of the Warrior (2008)
• Young Samurai: The Way of the Sword (2009)
• Young Samurai: The Way of the Dragon (2010)

Latest news: Chris Bradford

Puffin’s Top 70 children’s book ever
Puffin has published its list of what it considers the 70 best children's books of all time. It is an impressive list and will provide bookworms with a wonderful choice when they next look for a book. Amongst the list are many Fantasy Book Review favourites including A Wizard of Earthsea, Watership [...]

Winners of the Red House Children’s Book Award 2009
Former journalist and editor Sophie McKenzie has scooped the overall prize in the prestigious Red House Children’s Book Award 2009 for her thrilling teen novel, Blood Ties. The award is regarded as the most important children’s prize for literature because it is the only award voted for solely by [...]

Coming Soon: The Way of the Sword by Chris Bradford
More than a year has passed since Jack Fletcher’s fateful arrival in Japan. Under the protection of the legendary warrior Masamoto Takeshi, Jack is now training to be a samurai at Niten Ichi Ry?, the ‘One School of Two Heavens” in Kyoto but he is in real trouble . . . There is talk of murderous a [...]

Red House Children's Book Award
The shortlist for this year's Red House Children’s Book Award (RHCBA) has been announced. Some 838 books were entered for the award, which is voted for by children and run by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups (FCBG). Each reader, aged from three to 16 years, from the 13 Federation of Childre [...]