James Leader won the Newdigate Prize for Poetry at Oxford University and then em barked upon a career of writing and teaching. After the Saudi Arabian Navy, an Ameri can High School and a Nicaraguan university, he was seconded to the European School of Luxembourg, where he still teaches. James became a proud Luxembourger in 2015. The following year, his young adult novel The Venus Zone won rst place in Luxem bourg’s National Literary Competition. He has also written two other novels The Myste ries of Gogos and Chickendance. His debut poetry collection, High Talk (Éditions PHI), was shortlisted for the Prix Servais in 2023. Into Babel, his rst novel for adults, was a #1 bestseller in Luxembourg in 2025.