Ben Aaronovitch

Proof positive that a job as a Waterstones bookseller is an inevitable springboard to the bestseller charts, Ben Aaronovitch has built his playful crime and fantasy mash-ups into a hugely popular literary franchise. After serving his sci-fi apprenticeship penning episodes of Doctor Who, Aaronovitch turned his hand to prose with the PC Peter Grant series. Effortlessly blending multiple genres, the books, which began with Rivers of London in 2011, introduce the eponymous copper - who also happens to be the first English apprentice wizard in over 70 years. The series has grown to include novellas and graphic novels and has a dedicated cult following around the world.