James Russell is a best-selling, award-winning author based in Auckland, New Zealand.

He has three children's picture books (The Dragon Brothers Trilogy) and nine junior fiction (middle grade) titles (The Dragon Defenders series, the Children of the Rush historical fiction series, and Marlon Foundling and the Circus of Lost Children - published in June 2026).

He has written two novels for adults - Mine and Lines. 

His books have been published in a dozen countries and have sold over 250,000 copies. James has won two Storylines Notable Book Awards and the Storylines Gaelyn Gordon Award, and has been shortlisted for the NZ Book Awards for Children and Young Adults and NZ Booklovers Awards. 

James's Read NZ bio can be found at https://www.read-nz.org/writer/russell-james/

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