John Christopher

Christopher Samuel "Sam" Youd (16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012), better known by his pen name John Christopher, was a British science fiction writer. He was best known for his novel "The Death of Grass" and the young adult novel series "The Tripods". He won the Guardian Prize in 1971 and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1976.
Christopher was born in Huyton, Lancashire. He was married to Joyce Fairbairn from 1946 until they divorced in 1978. They had five children: Nick, Rose, Liz, Sheila and Margret. He later was married to Jessica Ball until her death in 2001.
Christopher died from bladder cancer on 3 February 2012 in Bath, Somerset. He was 89.