Geoffrey McSkimming
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey McSkimming is the author of the Cairo Jim
chronicles and Jocelyn Osgood jaunts, a children's book
series. Since publication of the first Cairo Jim story in 1991, the series has never gone out of print and has been translated and released in many countries throughout the world.
McSkimming was born on 1 January 1962 in Sydney
, Australia
. To write his books, he has travelled to Egypt
, Peru
, Tanzania
(including Zanzibar
), Greece
, Mexico
, Turkey
, Italy
and Singapore
and other locations. He is much in demand for author talks, and makes many appearances in character as his alter ego "Cairo Jim".
In 2007, Scholastic published Geoffrey McSkimming's book of verse, Ogre in a Toga and Other Perverse Verses. The audio version of this title, narrated by McSkimming, was shortlisted in the Audie Awards in 2008.
In addition to the Cairo Jim series and Ogre in a Toga, Geoffrey McSkimming has contributed to magazines and poetry anthologies and he also narrates the Cairo Jim chronicles on CD and tape for Bolinda Publishing. He has written four character tours which take place regularly through the galleries at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Australia. His fifth character-based tour for the Art Gallery of NSW, featuring an alien named Pertinos from the planet BoomdiddyVostock, will premiere in May 2011 in the contemporary galleries and the new Kaldor Family contemporary art gallery there.
In June 2006 Geoffrey McSkimming undertook an author tour of the UK for Walker Books, who have released Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos, Cairo Jim in Search of Martenarten, Cairo Jim and the Sunken Sarcophagus of Sekheret, Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods, Cairo Jim and the Quest for the Quetzal Queen, Cairo Jim and the Secret Sepulchre of the Sphinx, Cairo Jim Amidst the Petticoats of Artemis and Cairo Jim and the Lagoon of Tidal Magnificence. Cairo Jim and the Tyrannical Bauble of Tiberius and Cairo Jim and the Chaos from Crete will be published by Walker in August 2008.
On 14 August 2008 Geoffrey McSkimming's performance work, "The Startling Tale of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" (with additional dialogue by William Shakespeare), a monologue in verse, was performed by the author at the Abbotsleigh School for Girls' Literature Festival in Sydney, Australia.
Geoffrey McSkimming is represented by Curtis Brown Literary Agency, Sydney and London.
His Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood books are published in many different languages in:
Years later he discovered the identities of the trio, and has spent much of his time since then retracing their footsteps, interviewing surviving members of the Old Relics Society, and gradually reconstructing the lost true tales of Cairo Jim, which have become the enormously successful Cairo Jim chronicles."
Cairo Jim
Cairo Jim is a popular series of children's books by author Geoffrey McSkimming. They have been described as "epic" and "imaginatively written", and compared to the Boy's Own Paper and the works of Agatha Christie.There are currently 18 books in the series...
chronicles and Jocelyn Osgood jaunts, a children's book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
series. Since publication of the first Cairo Jim story in 1991, the series has never gone out of print and has been translated and released in many countries throughout the world.
McSkimming was born on 1 January 1962 in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. To write his books, he has travelled to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
(including Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
), Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and other locations. He is much in demand for author talks, and makes many appearances in character as his alter ego "Cairo Jim".
In 2007, Scholastic published Geoffrey McSkimming's book of verse, Ogre in a Toga and Other Perverse Verses. The audio version of this title, narrated by McSkimming, was shortlisted in the Audie Awards in 2008.
In addition to the Cairo Jim series and Ogre in a Toga, Geoffrey McSkimming has contributed to magazines and poetry anthologies and he also narrates the Cairo Jim chronicles on CD and tape for Bolinda Publishing. He has written four character tours which take place regularly through the galleries at the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Australia. His fifth character-based tour for the Art Gallery of NSW, featuring an alien named Pertinos from the planet BoomdiddyVostock, will premiere in May 2011 in the contemporary galleries and the new Kaldor Family contemporary art gallery there.
In June 2006 Geoffrey McSkimming undertook an author tour of the UK for Walker Books, who have released Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos, Cairo Jim in Search of Martenarten, Cairo Jim and the Sunken Sarcophagus of Sekheret, Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods, Cairo Jim and the Quest for the Quetzal Queen, Cairo Jim and the Secret Sepulchre of the Sphinx, Cairo Jim Amidst the Petticoats of Artemis and Cairo Jim and the Lagoon of Tidal Magnificence. Cairo Jim and the Tyrannical Bauble of Tiberius and Cairo Jim and the Chaos from Crete will be published by Walker in August 2008.
On 14 August 2008 Geoffrey McSkimming's performance work, "The Startling Tale of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark" (with additional dialogue by William Shakespeare), a monologue in verse, was performed by the author at the Abbotsleigh School for Girls' Literature Festival in Sydney, Australia.
Geoffrey McSkimming is represented by Curtis Brown Literary Agency, Sydney and London.
His Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood books are published in many different languages in:
- AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
- KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
- PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
- GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- PolandPolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
- RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
- HungaryHungaryHungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
- New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
Inspiration
"When Geoffrey McSkimming was a boy he found an old motion-picture projector and a tin containing a dusty home movie in his grandmother's attic. He screened the film and was transfixed by the flickering image of a man in a jaunty pith helmet, baggy Sahara shorts and special desert sun-spectacles. The man had an imposing macaw and a clever looking camel, and Geoffrey Mcskimming was mesmerised by their activities in black-and-white Egypt, Peru, Greece, Mexico, Sumatra, Turkey, Italy and other exotic locations.Years later he discovered the identities of the trio, and has spent much of his time since then retracing their footsteps, interviewing surviving members of the Old Relics Society, and gradually reconstructing the lost true tales of Cairo Jim, which have become the enormously successful Cairo Jim chronicles."