The Possessors

16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012

Sam Youd, who wrote under a number of pseudonyms is particularly noted for his works written as **John Christopher** such as the *Tripods Trilogy* or the *Sword of the Spirits Trilogy*. Sam Youd was born in Huyton, Lancashire (though Youd is an old Cheshire surname). He adopted the name Christopher Samuel Youd for his professional writings, leading to the widespread but mistaken belief that that was his birth name. Throughout his life he was known simply as Sam to his friends and acquaintances.

16 April 1922 – 3 February 2012

Sam Youd was a British writer best known for science fiction written under the name of **John Christopher**, including the novels The Death of Grass, The Possessors, and the young-adult novel series The Tripods. He won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in 1971 and the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis in 1976. Youd also wrote under variations of his own name and under the pseudonyms Stanley Winchester, Hilary Ford, William Godfrey, William Vine, Peter Graaf, Peter Nichols, and Anthony Rye.