Jonathan Stroud is an English author of fantasy novels for children and young adults. He is best known for his Bartimaeus Sequence, which consists of five books and has been translated into over 30 languages. Stroud was born in Bedfordshire, England in 1970 and studied English Literature at York University. He began writing in his twenties and his first book, The Amulet of Samarkand, was published in 2003. Since then, he has written several other successful books, including the Lockwood & Co. series and the Heroes of the Valley trilogy. Stroud is also a screenwriter and has written for television and film. He currently lives in London with his family.