Meet the author

Meet the Hawkings

Stephen Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at the University of Cambridge and is widely regarded as one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein.

His adult book, A Brief History Of Time, has been a publishing sensation.

Stephen’s daughter, Lucy Hawking, is the author of two adult novels, and has written for several UK newspapers and has been a guest presenter and regular contributor on radio. Lucy and Stephen wrote George’s Secret Key to the Cosmos in order to make the science of physics more understandable to children (and their parents!). A sequel, George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt, came out this year and a third in the series is to be published next year, in 2010. Lucy calls these books ‘science fact’, because although they are stories, they include real facts in a way that ordinary people can understand – in this way they are different to ‘science fiction’ books. Lucy has said, ‘Science fiction can be exciting and very gripping, but it doesn’t tell us anything about the universe in which we live. We wrote an adventure that is based on real science, rather than on fantasy.’

In the books, George lives at home with his technology-fearing parents and his mischievous pet pig Freddy. His parents have never let George have a computer of any kind but when new neighbours Annie and her scientist father Eric move in next door, he is introduced to the world’s most powerful computer – a highly advanced machine, called Cosmos, that holds the secrets to the Universe.
In George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt, Annie needs help. Her father is working on a space project – and it's all going wrong. A robot has landed on Mars, but is behaving very oddly. And now Annie has discovered something weird on her dad's super-computer. Is it a message from an alien? Could there be life out there? How do you find a planet in outer space? And if you could talk to aliens, what would you say?

Click here to go to George’s website. You can meet the characters, read an extract from the books, do a quiz or even enter a competition to win a book. There are also quizzes and posters and wallpapers to download.