Stefan Mohamed
Stefan Mohamed was born in 1988 in Kingston-upon-Thames, but spent most of his childhood in Powys, Wales. Fittingly for someone of both Jewish and Sri Lankan heritage growing up in rural Wales, much of his fiction deals with slightly out-of-place characters getting into scrapes in the countryside.
Stefan completed the first draft of his first novel, Bitter Sixteen, when he was 16. The quirky superhero adventure was eventually published in 2015 and became a Guardian Top Teen Read of 2015. The sequels, Ace of Spiders and Stanly’s Ghost, followed in 2016 and 2017. A stand-alone fantasy novel for adults, Falling Leaves appeared in 2018. Stefan is also a performing poet; his first collection of poetry was published in 2016. He has a degree in creative writing from Kingston University and lives in Bristol.
Books
Ace of Spiders
Author: Stefan Mohamed
Publisher: Salt
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
The second in the Bitter Sixteen trilogy, Ace of Spiders fizzes with just as much heart, razor-sharp dialogue, down to earth humour and sci-fi references as the first in the series. One of the best modern takes on the superhero genre, out there.
Bitter Sixteen
Author: Stefan Mohamed
Publisher: Salt
Interest age: 12+
Reading age: 12+
Funny, sharp and totally original, Bitter Sixteen is the beginning of a trilogy about a tremendously appealing smart-mouthed Welsh superhero (and his talking dog sidekick). Half action thriller, half coming-of-age story, with a wicked sense of humour.
Stanly’s Ghost
Author: Stefan Mohamed
Publisher: Salt Publishing
Interest age: 12-16
Reading age: 12+
The third and final book in the Bitter Sixteen trilogy concludes the adventures of reluctant Welsh superhero Stanly Bird. Stanly’s Ghost brings Stanly back to fight the evil Angel Group for the second time, but a lot’s changed while he’s been gone.