M.A.Batten is a neuro-diverse writer of fantasy and science fiction for middle-grade and young adult readers.

 

After winning over 150 creative awards during a hugely successful 25 year career in advertising, M.A.Batten returned to his childhood dream of telling stories but without brands or their ridiculous reasons to buy.

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His debut fantasy series DARK flips the tradition of the genre with humanity cast as the villain, all full of greed and destruction, and the magical monsters rising up as the force for good. At the centre is a child who doesn't fit into either world, based on the author's own struggles with estrangement.

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M.A. is also developing the science-fiction/fantasy series THE FIFTH FACTION which explores an ongoing secret battle between the teenage savants of different academic disciplines, inspired by his own scholastic experiences. And his collection of twisted short stories in TWO PENNIES AND A BOAT RIDE are not fit for bedtime consumption.

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As a self-confessed nerd, his stories include aspects of true history and science, and are peppered throughout with innocuous easter eggs for those with a similar bent for curious discovery, from the meanings of names to codified numbers and hidden crossover references.

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He is also an award-winning screenwriter under the moniker Mr Chicken whose work has garnered interest from Rupert Grint (Harry Potter series), Kunal Nayar (Big Bang Theory), Greg Davies (Taskmaster), and Nitin Sawney (Mowgli).

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As M.A.Batten writes, a hedgehog sits on his desk.