The Two Steves

Steve Barlow (real name Steven Lowe) and Steve Skidmore - collectively known as The two Steves - are British collaborative writers who mostly work in the field of children's literature. Steve Barlow has recently relocated to Somerset while Steve Skidmore is based in Leicester. They began collaborating in 1987 after meeting while working at Fairham Comprehensive School in Nottingham, and have produced a large body of work on a freelance basis. Recent works include the Outernet series (Scholastic) - an ambitious book/web crossover project with many interactive elements - and The Dark Forest comic fantasies (Collins). Over the years they have produced the "Mad Myths" series (Puffin, reissued by Barn Owl), the "Vernon Bright" series (Puffin), and contributions to the "Lost Diaries" series (Collins). They have also written a large body of work for educational publishers, and have been series editors for Impact and High Impact (materials for struggling readers) for Heinemann, as well as series editors for Heinemann Plays and Oxford Playscripts. Their first published work was a book of three short plays, "Paper Tigers" in the Oxford Playscripts series. They have more recently branched out into parody books such as "Star Bores", written to coincide with the release of Episode 1 of the Star Wars film franchise. However, the bulk of their work still remains in the field of children's and teenage literature. A number of their books have been translated into other languages, and The Mad Myths, Vernon Bright, The Dark Forest and Erik Bloodaxe books have been released as spoken word tapes. They continue to work together and produce new projects.

Works

Young Adult Books

* "I Fell in Love With a Leather Jacket"
* "In Love With an Urban Gorilla"
* "Dream On"

The Vernon Bright Series

* "Vernon Bright and the Magnetic Banana"
* "Vernon Bright and Frankenstein’s Hamster"
* "Vernon Bright and The Faster-Than-Light Show"
* "Vernon Bright and the End of the World"

The Outernet Series

* "Book 1: Friend or Foe?"
* "Book 2: Control"
* "Book 3: Odyssey"
* "Book 4: Time Out"
* "Book 5: The Hunt"
* "Book 6: Weaver"

The Lost Diaries Series

* "The Lost Diary of Erik Bloodaxe, Viking Warrior"
* "The Lost Diary of Henry VIII’s Executioner"
* "The Lost Diary of Shakespeare’s Ghostwriter"
* "The Lost Diary of Julius Caesar's Slave"
* "The Lost Diary of Hercules' Personal Trainer"
* "The Lost Diary of Robin Hood's Money Man"

The Dark Forest Series

* Goodknyght!
* "Whizzard!"
* "Trollogy!"
* "Knyghtmare!"

* "Star Bores" (A parody of Star Wars) Harper Collins

For reluctant readers

* "The Doomsday Virus" Barrington Stoke
* "The Doomsday Watchers" Barrington Stoke
* "Funny Business" Barrington Stoke

The Mad Myths Series

* "Stone Me!"
* "Mind the Door!"'
* "A Touch of Wind!"
* "Must Fly!"
* (August 2006) "Don't Look Back"

External links

* [http://www.the2steves.net Author's website]