GEZ WALSH

The GEZ WALSH page

Ever since the publication of his first book THE SPOT ON MY BUM (originally written to encourage his dyslexic son to read) in July 1997, Gez's fame has been steadily growing as a purveyor of rhymes ranging from the gross to the distasteful. The many thousands of kids (of all ages) who have bought THE SPOT ON MY BUM (currently in its umpteenth reprint having sold nearly 60,000 copies) have eagerly awaited each new collection from Gez's prolific pen.

THE SPOT ON MY BUM was followed up by THE RETURN OF THE SPOT, as might be expected, and then by the first in a multi-volume series of sword-and-sorcery novels featuring some of the characters from his poems, THE MAN IN THE SKIRT.

SOMEONE'S NICKED MY KNICKERS was his fourth book, followed by PARENTS, ZITS AND HAIRY BITS in 2000. Many of his ideas for poems and stories are suggested to him by kids at schools up and down the UK as he has travelled round doing his act. The strangest and oddest ones, however, are probably the ones he thought up himself. In this book, the reader will find old age travellers, Ninja grannies, and a lion called Dave who happens to be vegetarian. Not to mention Henry the cat, Victor the Viking and Cilla the Gorilla. Plus the usual scoops of poop and idle speculations about whether teachers are aliens.

2001 saw the appearance of FIDO'S FOUL SURPRISE, a further collection which found favour with his many fans: read this one, and you'll never wear a crash helmet again!

Huddersfield-based performance poet Gez , whose book of wacky children's poetry The Spot on My Bum has been riding high in the best seller lists, has had a busy summer of public appearances and readings. Since writing his first book last year, initially done as a private family effort to help his dyslexic son with his reading, Gez has quickly become a "hot commodity" in demand for public appearances and signing sessions. As part of the National Book Week celebrations, which are linked to the government's drive to bring more literacy into schools, Gez has been appearing at bookshops in both the North and South of England. In 1998 he appeared at the GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL on 26th 27th and 28th June and he finished the summer with an appearance at Rooting For Africa: A festival of Poetry, Storytelling and Song, at Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, to raise funds for the charity, Tree Aid.

Publication of his third book, The Man in The Skirt, a prose novel which features the character of Wilf, the boy who first appeared in the two poetry books, The Spot on My Bum and The Return of The Spot, was in December 1998. The book has just been reprinted again.

In 2001, Gez produced the second volume in the Celtic Chronicles series, finding Wilf and his colleagues in a difficult and dangerous adventure once again, as they struggle to combat the effects of the Banshee Moon.

As this site goes to press, Gez is hard at work promoting his latest poetry collection - Norah's Nasty Knickers, and writing the final volume in the Celtic Chronicles Trilogy, The Keeper. Make sure you come back to this site often for updates on these forthcoming Gez Walsh books!

Gez Walsh tells it like it is on BBC Radio Nottingham