Joseph Delaney died after an illness on August 16, 2022. He was 77.
A statement from his family released through his publisher Penguin Random House said; Joseph Delaney had died on Tuesday “after an illness, which, in his indomitable style, he kept to himself and his family so he could carry on with writing as much as he possibly could”.
Joseph Henry Delaney was an English author.
Born July 25, 1945 in Preston, Lancashire, Delaney attended Preston Catholic College but left at age 16 to become an apprentice fitter. Whilst working full-time, he did A Levels at night school before proceeding to Lancaster University to read English.
Following graduation, he studied at St Martin’s College to become a teacher. He then became an English teacher at the Blackpool Sixth Form College, where he headed the Media and Film Studies Department.
In the 1980s Delaney completed an Open University degree to become a computer programmer.
The former teacher published his first work The Spook’s Apprentice in 2004 and went on to write more than 25 novels for children.
The Spook’s Apprentice was later adapted into the 2014 film Seventh Son, which starred Ben Barnes, Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore.
His works, which won many prizes including the Lancashire Book Award, have sold more than 4.5 million copies around the world and have been translated into 30 languages.
Joseph Delaney is survived by his second wife, Rani Delaney, his three children; Paul Delaney, Stephen Delaney and Joanne Delaney and grandchildren. His first wife Marie Delaney died in 2007.