PRESS RELEASE

AFTER THE TWO YEAR WAIT…ALEX RIDER’S EXPLOSIVE RETURN

CROCODILETEARSBY ANTHONY HOROWITZNOVEMBER 12th 2009* Reviews strictly embargoed until publication day *WALKER BOOKS - £14.99 hardback (Republic of Ireland, £10.99 trade pbk)CROCODILE TEARS is the eighth title in Anthony Horowitz’s internationally bestselling Alex Rider series. CROCODILE TEARS is being simultaneously released as a traditional hardback, an e-book and an iPhone application. This is the first ever simultaneous release by Walker Books and will take the Alex Rider experience to a brand new audience.

In CROCODILE TEARS, Alex Rider is targeted by a hitman and under threat of his past being exposed by the media. Alex reluctantly turns to MI6. Their help doesn’t come cheap: they need Alex to spy on a GM crop research centre. There, he spots Desmond McCain, the high-profile head of an international charity who seems too good to be true. He is. Kidnapped and whisked off to Africa, Alex learns the full horror of McCain’s plot: to create an epic disaster that will kill millions.

With a story involving shady journalists, dodgy goings-on at a TV studio, a corrupt charity and GM Crops, CROCODILE TEARS is Anthony Horowitz’s most explosive and provocative novel to date. As usual, Anthony conducted extensive research for the book, traveling to Kenya, Suffolk, Norfolk and the Scottish Highlands to get the details exactly right.

To mark publication of CROCODILE TEARS, Anthony will be interviewed live on-stage at three mega-events in Edinburgh (November 12th), Dudley (November 13th) and London (November 14th). For more information on the events, visit www.alexrider.com or www.walker.co.uk.

Anthony Horowitz is the UK’s most popular male children’s author, with not just one but three bestselling book sequences to his name – ALEX RIDER, THE POWER OF

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FIVE and THE DIAMOND BROTHERS.

Born in North London, Anthony was just 23 when his first novel, ENTER FREDERICK K BOWER, was published in 1979. It was 21 years later, however - in the year 2000 - that the Horowitz phenomenon really exploded, with his creation of ALEX RIDER, the reluctant teenage superspy. Alex Rider’s seven missions to date have sold over twelve million copies worldwide. Anthony’s work has been translated into 28 languages. In 2006, STORMBREAKER hit movie screens worldwide, scripted by Anthony himself. The first three titles in the series – STORMBREAKER, POINT BLANC and SKELETON KEY – are now available as state-of-the-art graphic novels. 2010 marks ten years of the Alex Rider phenomenon and ten years at the top of the bestseller lists for Anthony Horowitz.

Anthony has an unrivalled reputation for getting boys, especially reluctant readers, excited about books. In 2007, Anthony was singled out by then Education Secretary Alan Johnson as the secret weapon to get boys reading. In 2008, Anthony was made the National Year of Reading’s first Champion Author due to his regular outreach work to Youth Offenders and Looked After Children throughout the UK. Earlier in 2009, he took a strong stand against new legislation requiring authors to take CRB checks before undertaking school visits.

Anthony enjoys parallel success as an award-winning screenwriter. He is the writer/creator behind MIDSOMER MURDERS (now in series 11 and screening in an incredible 167 countries) and the BAFTA award-winning FOYLE’S WAR, for which he has written 19 out of the 22 two-hour episodes. FOYLE’S WAR returns to the screen in 2010, due to popular demand. Autumn 2009 sees Anthony’s new five-part drama, COLLISION hit ITV1’s prime time schedules. This “State of the Nation” piece promises to be one of the most watched and talked about event dramas of the year. Anthony is a regular guest critic on BBC TV’s NEWSNIGHT REVIEW and writes journalism on a wide range of issues for a variety of national newspapers, as well as a regular opinion column for THE BOOKSELLER. For more, go to www.anthonyhorowitz.com.

………………………………………………………………ANTHONY HOROWITZ

INFORMATION & INTERVIEW REQUESTSCONTACT:

JUSTIN SOMPERjustso@globalnet.co.uk+ 44 20 8341 6523