The Midnight Gang

David Walliams is known for humorous works that include children’s picture books, middle grade novels, short tales, and a graphic novel. His ability to blend laugh-out-loud comedy with heartfelt plot lines and lovable characters has been compared to that of Roald Dahl of James and the Giant Peach fame. Young protagonists in Walliams’s works often face over-the-top conflicts that spark growth in courage and empathy. Awful (but still humorous) villains typically round out his casts of characters, and now that he has over 42 published works, readers sometimes find certain characters cropping up across unrelated novels, cameo-style. For example, Raj, a newsagent and patient in The Midnight Gang, is also a friend to protagonist Alfie in 2013’s Demon Dentist. Walliams’s “universe” of stories encompasses several genres, including fantasy, crime, mystery, and speculative fiction. His works appear in 55 languages, and many titles, including 2011’s Gangsta Granny, have become bestsellers.

Walliams is not just a writer; he rose to celebrity as a British comedian and television personality, starting with his time on the award-winning sketch comedy Little Britain in 2003. The actor went on to roles in feature films such as Dinner for Schmucks (2010) and served as a judge for Britain’s Got Talent.