Here Jeremy talks about his accident-prone childhood, inspiring young writers and why for writing there's nowhere better than the garden shed. Jeremy also reads from The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog.
The author's built an enormous following through his children's books. The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog won the Children's Book Award in 1997 and more recently, Lost! The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog was shortlisted in the Blue Peter Award 2008. He's sold over three million books in the UK.
This former teacher and jam factory worker says he wasn't allowed to read comics as a child, before finally discovering The Beano at 16 followed by the Goons and Spike Milligan. After teaching for over 20 years in primary schools he took up writing full time and has since had over 30 books published.
"I did try to write a really serious story once but it made me miserable and started putting in jokes to cheer myself up," he said.
"Of course in the end it turned into another funny story. I guess I see the funny side of most things. It's just the way I am."
Listen as we caught up Jeremy Strong at Leeds Art Gallery before a date on his sell-out Big Jam Explosion Tour.
