Tributes to Preston “master storyteller” author Joseph Delaney who wrote the best-selling Spook’s fantasy series

Who is Joseph Delaney?

Joseph, who attended Preston Catholic College, became an internationally acclaimed writer after his first children’s book, The Spook’s Apprentice was published by Random House Children’s Books in 2004.

Joe had worked as an apprentice engineer and fitter before getting his A-Levels at night school and beginning his degree course at Lancaster University in 1972.

Following graduation, he studied at St Martin's College and became an English teacher at the Blackpool Sixth Form College, where he helped start the Media and Film Studies Department. He would write in the early mornings before school.

His publishing success

After being picked up by Random House, Joe left teaching and went on to write 12 more titles in his globally bestselling dark fantasy series, The Wardstone Chronicles, plus 17 other titles, predominant ly set in the same world.

The books have now been translated into thirty languages and have sold more than 4.5 million copies around the world.

In 2014, The Spook’s Apprentice was made into a movie called The Seventh Son starring Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges.

Joe, who kept his illness to himself, was writing right up until the end of his life and was about to embark on the next round of edits for the fourth in his Brother Wulf sequence.

Family and friends pay tribute to Joseph Delaney

Joe’s children Joanne, Paul and Stephen said: “Dad loved writing and lived his dream over the last eighteen years as an author published by Random House and Penguin.

"His imagination was boundless, and he could have kept creating new and exciting stories for years to come. He enjoyed meeting fans throughout the world and hearing their thoughts on his books. We are very proud of what he achieved.

"There is a great deal of Dad in his writing, and we see that in every page. When we were young children, Dad would tell us very scary stories that should not have been told after dark! We are so fortunate to have those memories.

“He was a wonderful dad and a deeply caring man with an infectious sense of humour, especially after a glass of red wine.

"We hope that his books will inspire children and adults to create stories and live dreams of their own. That would have made him happy.”

Ruth Knowles, Publishing Director for Puffin said: “I was so proud to have been his editor for many years. It was frustrating at times – we would meet for a beer in Manchester and in response to my questions he would simply smile and remind me every time that he followed ‘The Bram Stoker’ method of writing (meaning nothing was ever planned or plotted in advance!) so I would have to wait for answers - but it was also of course completely magical as the creatures and characters from his worlds would slowly come into focus, journeying into brilliantly terrifying adventures.

" I hope he’s with the ghosts of his beloved Lancashire now and that there’s some delicious red wine on tap. We are so very proud to publish him.”

Joe died on August 16 and leaves behind his second wife, Rani – his first wife Marie died in 2007 – two sons and a daughter, and his grandchildren.