With imagination we can save the world!

David is a novelist, comics writer, environmental writer, journalist and consultant, and editor. Enjoy exploring this website.

He is the winner of the HarperCollins/Saga Magazine contest to find a major new children's writer with his novel Hybrids. In 2008 it also won the Lewisham Schools Book Award.

Hybrids is now available as an e-book!

"Essential reading for the cyberspace generation... A stunningly clever novel." - The Times

Buy his books and write to him using the links on the left.

What's new

• A website David manages, Sustainable Cities Collective, has been nominated for a Shorty Award for best use of social media in the Green category. Vote for it: nominate Sustainable Cities for a social media award in the Shorty Awards
• Did you know Doris Lessing wrote a published graphic novel? And it was part of the greatest otherwise unpublished series of literary graphic novels ever? This post on David's blog reveals the story of both the book, Playing the Game and the series and his role as commissioning editor.
• David's new book Energy Management in Industry is out. Twin title with the one below. Includes a chapter on data centres. Both can be read alongside training for ISO 50001 - Energy Management Systems.
"An easy to read book about how you can save energy in your company. He does this without [needing] to over complicate it with technical details and scientific formula. I enjoyed reading this book and would highly recommend it to energy managers and anyone who would want to reduce energy consumption." - Kit Oung, Energy Consultant and author of Energy Management in Business, Committee Member, British Standards Institute BSI-KSA.[Dec '13]
• David's new book Earthscan Expert Guide to Energy Management in Buildings is out. Read an article about it on the Sustainable Cities website. Download the information sheet. Order the book here. [Nov '13]
• David has been appointed Community Manager of Sustainable Cities Collective, meaning he acts as Thought Leader and evangelist for the site. [Aug '13]
• A Hybrids film? Yes! A team is being put together to produce a short promo with a view to obtaining a commission for a TV series or full-length feature film. It includes experienced director Chris Thomas (right) and storyboard / character visualiser Mike Thomas. A script has been written. Watch this space. [July '13]

• Download the flyer for David's next book, Energy Management in Buildings, to order advance copies [July '13]

• View a three-part interview with David about the writing of his book Hybrids on the British-American BookView TV YouTube channel, with the charming Denis Campbell. [July '13]

• Here is an important blog post on the Awfully Big Blog Adventure by David about the writing of Hybrids and what happens next. [July '13]

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• Here is a page about the eco-garden studio where David writes every day [June '13]

• David's proposal for a fifth book from Earthscan has just been accepted, subject to contract. Called The One Planet Life, it will be written in partnership with former Environment Minister Jane Davidson with contributions from Paul Wimbush from Lammas, Rachel Shiamh and others. It will, for the first time, examine the implications of One Planet Living as it is being pioneered in Wales by individuals living the dream, and by the reforms of the planning system instigated by Jane. [May '13]

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• Another article: All about interstitial condensation and how to treat it on the Superhomes website

• Energy Management in Buildings is in production and Energy Management in Industry is submitted to Earthscan now

• David is working on a book proposal with the Lammas founders and former Welsh Environment Secretary Jane Davidson on Living with Nature [May '13]

• David has a new article about heat pumps on the Superhomes website. Are they cost-effective?

• The publisher Earthscan has just decided to split the Energy Management book which David has written into two separate titles, for which he will be writing more material: Energy Management in Buildings and Energy Management in Industry. That is an extra book deal! [Mar '13]

• This is the cover of David's new book from Earthscan, due out in the summer. It will contain chapters on conducting an energy audit, running an energy saving campaign, saving energy in buildings, undustry and commerce, lighting, water, data centres, and making the financial case. It's meant to be read alongside a course, obtaining the energy management standard ISO 50001. [Mar '13]

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• David has delivered the last draft of his new book for Earthscan, The Expert Guide to Energy Management: 75,000 words and 260 illustrations.

• An article containing an interview with David about Captain Britain has been published in SFX magazine. Download a PDF [6.2MB]. - [Feb '13].

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• David has just got back from the Seychelles where he was running a drama and music workshop for children at an international school with his wife, the composer Helen Adam. Read all about what happened here, on the Awfully Big Blog Adventure website.

• David's e-book Sustainable Transport Fuels is available now from Do Sustainability. [Dec '12]

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• 25 years ago the terrible hurricane hit the UK. David escaped with his life when the roof of his house was blown in. Read the story here and how it led to the publication of Doc Chaos: The Chernobyl Effect .
• The Independent newspaper claimed a world exclusive last week on a story that a company has made petrol from air. But David covered this story first way back in August.
• Sustainability is one of the buzz words of the moment. But what does it really mean for business? David has written this Grant Thornton report, 'Sustainable Businesses - Navigating towards a more sustainable future', based on a survey of 'middle tier' of organisations in the UK.
• Read David's Top 10 Tips for Manuscript Revision and how to deal with those rejection letters from agents and publishers. From the Awfully Big Blog Adventure blog site.
• David's round-up of news coverage in the week 7-14 Oct on Headline Environment.
• Read a short interview with David, courtesy of those nice people at Headline Environment [Oct '12]

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• Children's publishing is growing - the message from the Children's Writers and Illustrators Group Conference 2012 - David's blog post.
• HarperCollins has begun aggressively selling the TV/film rights to Hybrids. This follows Boulder's decision to relinquish the rights. Material has been sent, following a request, to the Development Team at CBBC in Salford, and to DreamWorks. Any company interested in this should urgently contact John Collins at HarperCollins.
• David has finished a draft of his next e-book for Dō Sustainability, on Sustainable Transport Fuels. It is now out for peer review. Meanwhile, his last ebook, on Solar PV, is available here. Read this article: 'Is it still worth investing in PV in the UK?' and get a discount on its full price.
• The final draft of David's novel Stormteller is being actively considered for publication by a medium-sized publisher. He is now working on a final draft of his other current novel We Can Improve On You. Work on both of these has been supported by the excellent team at Cornerstones. [Sept '12]

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• NEW! A non-fiction ebook: Solar Photovoltaics Business Briefing, the first ebook by a new publisher, Dō Sustainability counteract information overload and support professionals in the vanguard of sustainability. "This is a really useful and concise briefing on solar electricity in the British policy and market context." - Jo Abbess.
• ALSO NEW! A fiction ebook: Doc Chaos: The Chernobyl Effect & The Last Laugh, with illustrations by the wonderful artists Dave McKean, Simon Bisley (who did the cover), Bryan Talbot, Brett Ewins, Duncan Fegredo and more. Available on Amazon or on this site, for Kindle and other formats. It was launched at the Kidwelly e-festival, the first UK e-book festival. The behind-the-scenes story of the making of the ebook is here. [Aug '12]

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• David is conducting a workshop for young people on science fiction writing at Gwyn Hall, Neath, South Wales, on July 21st 10-1am. Email for details.
• David has just signed two new book publishing contracts. The first is for The Earthscan Expert Guide to Sustainable Energy Management, his third book in this important series published by Routledge. This will be 60,000 words long and contain almost 300 illustrations. It will look at the human as well as technical side of the subject, by interviewing the country's leading energy managers.
• The second is for Sustainable Transport Fuels, a 15,000 word e-book, from Do Sustainability. This exciting new e-publishing company, operating on a new business model and backed by Earthscan's former publisher, is to publish its first title, also written by David, on Photovoltaics: A Business Guide, in September.
• He is also writing reports and other items for corporate clients Grant Thornton and Halcrow. [July '12]

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• What's the best glazing and windows for energy efficiency? Read the guide to energy efficient windows, the second in a series of articles David is writing for the Superhomes Network [June '12]

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David was married on May 12 to the beautiful, talented, sassy and smart Helen Adam. He feels a very lucky man indeed!


Helen is Catwoman, by the way, and David is secretly King Mob from Grant Morrison's excellent comic series The Invisibles! On their honeymoon, they saved the world at least three times.

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• What's the best insulation material? Read this crucial guide David wrote for the Superhomes Network before installing any insulation [May '12]

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• A story David began on Energy and Environmental Management magazine on water company leaks was taken up, and David was interviewed by, the Sunday Mirror, Metro, Radio Kent and Meridian ITV News. He has since written a follow-up. [March '12]

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• It's now possible to buy PDF downloads for iPad and e-readers of the two short stories David wrote for the Satirica collection of satirical speculative fiction. Scroll to the bottom of the bookshop page.
• David has just done an interview with SFX magazine on his seminal role in the 1980s revamping of Captain Britain for Marvel Comics. Many characters he created were later used to great effect by Alan Moore and other writers. Read more about his rol in this introduction to the Captain Britain anthology published last year.
• David's latest initiative is Green Deal Advice, which provides sustainable refurbishment renewables advice to help property owners make the most of the Green Deal, Feed-in Tariffs and Renewable Heat Incentive, including the opportunity to buy e-versions of single chapters of his books.
• The Klezmerisation of Welsh music! An article for the New Welsh Review. [January '12]

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• Boulder Media has now started work on visualisations of Hybrids in preparation for the proposed TV series. We're very excited and can't wait to see them!
• David has been commissioned to write an e-book on solar photovoltaics by the publisher Sedition. This will be a pilot for a whole series of e-books on sustainability topics. It only has to be finished by the 1st week in January!
• David is in discussions with Earthscan/Taylor & Francis for a new non-fiction book to be written next year on solar architecture.
• David has written an article on graphic novels, called What Pencils Were Made to Create, in the current issue of the New Welsh Review.
• David has finished the latest draft of his novel Stormteller which, along with his other recently completed, We Can Improve On You, is currently being read by the excellent David Fickling books. Fingers crossed!
• David gave a talk on solar PV at last month's Solar Flair '11 conference You can download the presentation here. [December '11]

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• COMPETITION! Win a copy of Solar Technology! Enter here by December 1st!
• You can now buy copies of David's non-fiction books on the bookshop page! [October '11].

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• David's new title Solar Technology is out. It is an excellent introduction to all solar technologies and practices, and solar energy itself. It covers solar space heating, architecture, water heating, solar cooling, solar power stations and photovoltaic electricity. It's full of pictures, and easy to read! It was delayed by a takeover of the publisher Earthscan by Taylor and Francis. You can buy it here [September '11].

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• David has been booked to be one of the speakers at Solar Flair 2011 on November 24 in Durham - the national Photovoltaics Conference. [August '11].
• David has a profile on the revamped Society of Authors web site, which lists all his fiction and non-fiction non-journalistic work.
• He has another profile on the Literature of Wales website
• Solar Technology, The Earthscan Expert Guide to Using Solar Energy for Heating, Cooling and Electricity is out this month!
• David is producing daily news and weekly opinion pieces on the Energy and Environmental Management website.
[May '11]

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• The TV option rights for Hybrids have been bought by Boulder, a production company in Dublin! Although they have mainly produced animations so far, the new series will, if development finance is raised, be live action with CGI! A new edition of the book is in preparation.

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• David is giving a free webcast based on his book Sustainable Home Refurbishment. It's on Wed. 12th January at 5pm.

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• David is giving a reading from his book Hybrids and a signing on Dec 11, 2010 as part of Deganwy Authors’ Day and Book Fair, from 10-4pm at Quay Hotel, Deganwy, near Conwy, LL31 9DJ. More at: http://www.jeanmead.com/#/authors-day/4544004220.

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• David is giving a weekend workshop based on his book Sustainable Home Refurbishment at the Low Impact Living Initiative on Nov 19-21.

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• David has just finished writing Solar Technology: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Solar Energy for Power, Heating, and Cooling, a major new work on the potential for the dawning of the Solar Age. Read about it here.[Oct '10]

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• New DragonTongue blog post - why can't adults remember what it was like to be a child? Does it matter? [Sept '10]

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• David will be reading and answering questions at a literature and storytelling night for children on Friday, 10 September, 6pm in Carad, East Street, Rhayader, LD6 5ER, mid-Wales. Tel. 01597 810192.

• New Captain Britain Hard Cover Omnibus out.

• Guest blog at The Ecologist magazine on the great British Refurbishment campaign and the new Coalition Government's Green Deal.

• Guest blog at Dragon Tongue about the influence of landscape in mid-Wales on writers. [Aug '10]

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• David's new book has just come out - Sustainable Home Refurbishment: The Earthscan Expert Guide to Retrofitting Homes for Efficiency. Thanks to everyone who helped put it together!
" This is an excellent book - comprehensively-researched, powerfully-presented and crystal clear. It should be the first stop for anyone seeking objective advice in a field cluttered with misleading claims. I couldn't recommend it more strongly." - George Monbiot
A retro-fit offers many benefits: cutting electricity and heating bills, increasing the resale value of homes, slashing carbon emissions and creating a healthier place to live. This book is the guide to making it happen. [July '10]

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• David will be on a panel at the Greener Homes & Building Show on June 4th to talk about sustainable refurbishment and his new non-fiction title on the subject which comes out in June.

• David's new novel We Can Improve On You has been accepted for publication by Troll Carnival, and imprint of Parthian Books. All being well it should appear in 2011. [May '10]

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• Captain Britain and The Siege of Camelot is out, which contains David's work on Captain Britain and a new introduction written by myself - plus one by the writer of the Black Knight series, Steve Parkhouse, as well as the feature and art from the Captain Britain Summer Special and Inside Comics - A short history of Captain Britain by Alan Moore.

It contains the Captain Britain strips from Marvel Super Heroes Nos.377 - 389 and The Daredevils Nos. 1 - 11 chronicling the stories by myself, Alan Moore and Alan Davis. It costs £12 from Forbidden Planet. [Apr '10]

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• David is working on a project called Animation Tank in primary schools. Classes end up writing a script and then animating it into a 3 minute film which is up for an award at the annual Pink Snowball Awards held every November in Machynlleth. His role is running sessions on: Why do we tell stories? What is a Story? Morals, themes and structure; Characters, and coming up with storylines. Animator Mikey Ford, of Aardman Productions, then works with the kids to animate the scripts.[Feb '10]

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• David has been commissioned by the publisher Earthscan to write an Introduction to Solar Power in their Expert Guide series. [Feb '10]

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• David is working with George Monbiot managing the Arrest Blair website and Facebook group. This campaign offers a reward to people attempting a peaceful citizen’s arrest of the former British prime minister, Tony Blair, for crimes against peace. Anyone attempting an arrest which meets the rules laid down on the website will be entitled to one quarter of the money collected at the time of his or her application. [Jan '10]

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• David has a profile on the new website for school visits Author Hotline. And although it's behind schedule you can order the Captain Britain collection featuring his work from Marvel Comics, and while you're at it, the omnibus published last year [Jan '10]

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• Some nice praise has arrived from George Monbiot and Penney Poyzer for David's new book. Read it on the right side of this new sustainability page on this website. [Jan '10]

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• David has begun writing his next novel for older children called The Drowning. One of the grant conditions was the production of a blog to document the writing of the The Drowning. Now he has begun to write it this is a fine time to start. So here's a link to the first blog. [Dec '09]

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• Blogs about climate change, the Copenhagen talks and Curitiba and an intro to a Marvel Comics Captain Britain anthology [Dec '09]

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• Watch a clip from David's MTV interview when he was ambushed by interviewer Caza as David turned up to rap to students at the ESPM University Sao Paulo on November 18th. A 3.5MB Powerpoint of the talk is here

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• David at the 55th bookfair at Porto Alegre, Brazil on November 15th. : A review in which they call him a hybrid is here; and a poor but just about understandable Google translation is here

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• David has thoroughly enjoyed running writing workshops at St Nicholas British School, Sao Paulo, last week (Nov 2-6 2009). This week he is at St Paul's School, a much bigger place. He's blogging about his time in Sao Paulo here

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• Sustain Wales' November 2009 newsletter is still serialising the Wales for Africa case studies David wrote last year - one per issue. This one, about a learning exchange with Lesotho, begins of page 8 of this link

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• Latest (Nov '09) issue of Energy and Environmental Management magazine published - David is the News Editor, plus new environmental blogs on the run-up to the COP 15 climate change talks in December over at the Low Carbon Kid

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• David is preparing to go to Sao Paulo to deliver creative writing workshops in two schools, meet his Brazilian editor, Otacilia, for the first time, and Felipe, the comics artist he's been working with for over a year! Otacilia has promised parties, good food, fascinating peopple and a trip to talk and sign at the Porto Alegre bookfair on November 13. He feels very lucky!

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• David has been working in October with Film 15 and animator Mikey Ford on the Animation Tank, with local primary school kids. They now know how important stories are - and have some great ones to turn into films in the next few months!

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• Writing Magazine features an interview with David Thorpe in its June 09 issue. Download a pdf of Anita Rowe's interview with David. Also, the current issue of Judge Dredd Megazine (286) carries a long article on the development of the Marvel character Captain Britain, including part of an interview with David on his stint on the comic.

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• New Guardian piece: We need a budget for green homes Alistair Darling must set up a co-ordinated plan to encourage energy efficiency and refurbish the nation's dwellings.

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• David wins grant to write a new novel. The Drowning will be a novel about two sworn enemies - young teen boys - thrust together to survive in the wild when climate change makes them homeless. He'll be blogging about the process of writing it, and the research results. The £6,326.90 grant is from 'cyfle i greu' - 'chance to create' a scheme run by Powys Arts Forum under the Wales Assembly Government.
• New blog: "The day I met Monty Python's Terry Jones - and what we talked about" [Apr '09]

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• He has become the Welsh network coordinator for the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). British SCBWI's website is: http://britishscbwi.jimdo.com/. You can read a report of the first gathering of SCWBI Wales by clicking here. [Feb '09]

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• New sections have been added to this site [Oct '08]:

• A history of greenspace - web-based educational resource commissioned by the Sensory Trust (2003)
• Managing Hell cartoon strips
• Public Servants cartoon strips

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• David has two stories in Satirica, a collection of satirical science fiction published by Cowboy Logic in the States. They are Perfection, and a Doc Chaos story - The Last Laugh.
• Perfection is a cautionary allegory about addiction, glamour and politics.
• The Last Laugh contemplates the end of civilisation - and imagines the glee of Doc Chaos as we fell prey to the lies we wanted to believe.
• You can buy it on Amazon for around £9 - for 24 hardcore tales. (Oct '08)

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• The Wales 4 Africa book for the Welsh Assembly Government is finished. (Oct '08)
• An interview with David in Brazil (September '08)

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• Great pics of the launch of Hybrids - Hibridos in Portuguese - at the Sao Paulo bookfair with Johnny Online. (August '08)

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• Johnny Online has started his own blog - just like in the book, Hybrids. It is here, at Hybrid Nation (July '08)

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• David was given the Lewisham Schools Book Award and hosted a quiz for the kids on June 5 at Forest Hill School, London. Read all about it - The kids are alright, Hail Lewisham, and join the campaigns to publish Hybrids 2, and stop "age banding"!

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• David opens a new library at an Academy in London (May '08)

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• Hybrids wins the Lewisham Schools Book Award (April '08)

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• A cool interview with David in Neonbeam (March '08)

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• David is working on a comics adaptation of Hybrids with the Brazilian artist Felipe Cunha - see pics right and below (March '08)

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• Hybrids has been shortlisted for the Sefton Super Reads award in the Sefton borough of Merseyside. (January '08)

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What some people have said about Hybrids

"David Thorpe has surely marked a place amongst promising and highly intelligent writers." - John Lloyd of Waterstones, Bath.

"An absolute must read - a terrifyingly realistic and contemporary novel" - Verity Newman, Waterstones Brentstones

"This powerful, compelling tale asks searching questions about what it means to be human. • A dystopic, imaginative sci-fi chiller about our human reliance on technology • Explores the boundaries of what it means to be human • Asks important moral and philosophical questions about rights and responsibilities. This book will provoke lots of thought and debate • Timely and important as we enter an age of robotics, nanotechnology and genetic modification." - Scholastic Autumn 2007 Highlights

"A great debut." - Inis, the Childrens Books Ireland magazine

"There is vigour and validity in Hybrids... a commendable first novel." - James Lovegrove, Financial Times.

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Watch some of David's webcast interviews

• Rob Hopkins on the Spread of the Transition Towns Movement
• Ciaran Mundy on The Bristol Pound and How to Create a Local Currency
• Maria Gallucci on NYC Mayor Bloomberg's Climate Change Legacy in New York City
• Patricia Lee on Greening Cities, Air Quality and Building Efficiency
• Pedro B. Ortiz, a former Deputy Mayor of Madrid and Director General for Metropolitan Planning at Madrid’s Regional Government on his theory of the Metro-Matrix Method.
• Florian Lorenz on the Vienna Cycling Manifesto
• Chuck Wolfe on Urbanism Without Effort
• Tim Campbell on How Cities Learn

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"A stunningly clever novel" The Times
"A masterpiece" a 12 year old reader on Red House books

Download the first two chapters (PDF, 100kB).

Buy signed copies of Hybrids here

What are you waiting for?!

>> Read more about David Thorpe's Hybrids

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