Jan-Andrew Henderson

Jan-Andrew Henderson is a Scottish author of children’s, teen, young adult and adult fiction and non-fiction. He has published 40 books in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia,

He has received the Doncaster Book Prize, the Aurealis Award, and the Royal Mail Award.

Professional career Henderson’s career has close ties to the history of Edinburgh and its supernatural aspects. His debut book The Town Below The Ground was the first written about Edinburgh’s forgotten ‘Underground City’ and helped popularise it as a major historical attraction.

His other book include The Ghost That Haunted Itself made the Mackenzie Poltergeist in Greyfriars Graveyard famous. Further works, City of the Dead and Father Figure played a significant role in shaping Edinburgh’s supernatural reputation.

In 1999, Henderson founded Black Hart Entertainment and City of the Dead Tours – a ghost walk company exploring both the underground city and the Mackenzie Poltergeist.

He is a member of the Institute of Professional Editors, in 2017, he founded Green Light Literary Consultants. Other roles include an industry assessor and mentor for the Queensland Writers Centre, a peer assessor for the Australian Government, a mentor for the Horror Writers Association, secretary for the Romance Writers of Australia, an ambassador for Australia Reads, convenor for the Aurealis Award and a judge.

Awards and recognition Henderson’s novels have been shortlisted for sixteen literary awards and he is the winner of the Doncaster Book Award and the Royal Mail Award, Britain’s biggest children’s book prize at the time. He was also part of the Aurealis Award-winning anthology Relics Wrecks and Ruins, alongside renowned writers such as Neil Gaiman and Robert Silverberg.