Please help me find this author!!

[MaltipooMama]

So advanced warning I can't actually remember a lot of detail... 😂

But pretty sure it would've been around late 90s/early 00s, male author I think and he used to write (I think) collections of short stories. One story in one of the books was about a bee keeper or something similar, the mini stories were quite outlandish from what I remember! I just know I had loads of these books and I desperately want to remember them for when my boy is older!

Sorry I know they're probably useless clues but my mind is blank and I can't seem to remember anymore detail 😭

Were they Point Horror stories? Animal based may be Dick King Smith.

Sounds like some of the Roald Dahl stories.

No although I loved the Point Horror books too! I just remember that one storyline in one of the collections about the beekeeper, the rest weren't really animal themed, they were more comedy type stories but really random. I think each book had several mini stories in but I can't be 100% sure. I've been googling for days trying to find the author!

I'm down a nostalgia hole and found The Giant Jam Sandwich, a delightful story I forgot all about

Is it worth putting this in the ‘Book’ thread? Or one of the children’s threads?

What age were they aimed at?
Paul Jennings is an Australian writer who wrote a lot of silly short stories (including Round the Twist - the one set in a lighthouse).

Look up Roald Dahl Kiss Kiss. That has a story about a Bee Keeper. I read this in my teens. Creepy stories but not gory or sexual.

Definitely sounds like Roald Dahl's short story "Royal Jelly". Some of his short stories are funny, some sinister. All fairly nasty.

I did consider that but I didn't want to just hit the hard core readers as I thought there may be a fair few people around my age group (38) who have probably read them too as teenagers

Kids books or adults books?

Try putting everything you know into ChatGPT and see what it comes up with.

If the bee one was called Royal Jelly or something like that then it's definitely Roald Dahl!

Yea this was in his "tales of the unexpected" book. Really good

THANK YOU!!! Paul Jennings is the one! I knew I'd recognise the name as soon as I saw it. Jeez three days unsuccessfully googling and it took less than 15 minutes on Mumsnet... I should've known!

Thank you, I shall be able to sleep tonight now 😂

@MaltipooMama very happy to be of service
🙂🎄🙂🎄🙂🎄

I think that story was adapted for Tales of the Unexpected.

I loved Paul Jennings, and thought you meant him, but also, couldn't remember his name!
He wrote some books in collaberation with Morris Gleitzman, who is also a great children's author. He wrote about many very serious topics but in a child friendly format, like refugees and drought.

Oh yes I remember the story about the drought! They're sort of coming back to me now bit by bit, I remember having so many of his books and I absolutely loved them, was driving me mad not remembering his name as I was thinking I'd like to introduce my son to the books when he's older!

@stravagante
That was on the telly! Timothy West was in it!