Justin Richards

Justin Richards (14 September 1961 – 28 June 2026) was a British writer of science fiction, fantasy, and adventure fiction. He wrote science fiction and fantasy novels, including series set in Victorian and early 20th-century London, as well as contemporary adventure stories. He was best known for writing numerous spin-off novels, reference books, and audio plays based on the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who. Richards served as Creative Consultant for the BBC Books range of Doctor Who novels until 2017.

Background

Richards was born in Epping, Essex, on 14 September 1961. After attending Dean Close School in Cheltenham, he obtained a BA (Hons) in English and Theatre at the University of Warwick.

As well as his literary career, Richards worked as a technical writer, editor, programmer, and user interface designer at IBM, and as an errand boy in a hotel.

Richards was married and had two sons, Julian and Chris. He lived in Warwickshire until his death on 28 June 2026, at the age of 64. He had been suffering from early-onset dementia in the years prior to his death.

Work

Richards' first published novels were based on Doctor Who, appearing in the Virgin New Adventures, Virgin Missing Adventures, and Virgin Decalog series. He continued to write for BBC Books after it resumed publishing Doctor Who fiction. As well as producing numerous novels, audiobooks, activity books, and reference books, he served as Creative Consultant for the BBC Books range of Doctor Who novels.

In 2003, Richards began writing a series of crime novels for children (The Invisible Detective), whose parallel plots, set in the 1930s and the present day, reflected a fascination with time and temporal paradox that was also evident in the Time Runners series, published in 2007–08. His more action-oriented books included the Agent Alfie series for younger readers and a series of action-adventure novels for young teenagers co-written with Jack Higgins. Other works incorporated supernatural elements, including the Department of Unclassified Artefacts novels and the School of Night series.

His novel The Chaos Code won the Hull Children's Book Award in 2008. Demon Storm (from the School of Night series) was shortlisted for the Southampton's Favourite Book Award in 2011.

Richards also wrote audio plays for Big Finish Productions, original audiobooks, and television scripts, including for Five's soap opera Family Affairs. In 2011, he ventured into electronic publishing through his own publishing company, Braxiatek. His novel The Skeleton Clock was released digitally later that year.

Books

For Virgin Books

Virgin New Adventures

Theatre of War (1994)

Dragons' Wrath (1997)

The Medusa Effect (1998)

Tears of the Oracle (1999)

The Joy Device (1999)

The Doomsday Manuscript (2000) – featuring Professor Bernice Summerfield

Virgin Missing Adventures

System Shock (1995)

The Sands of Time (1996)

Virgin Decalog

Decalog 3, Consequences (1996) (editor, with Andy Lane)

Decalog 4, Re:generations (1997) (editor, with Andy Lane)

Dependence Day (Decalog 4, Re:generations, 1997) (with Andy Lane)

For BBC Books

Past Doctor Adventures

Dreams of Empire (1998)

Millennium Shock (1999)

Grave Matter (2000)

The Shadow in the Glass (2001) (with Stephen Cole)

Eighth Doctor Adventures

Option Lock (1998)

Demontage (1999)

The Banquo Legacy (2000) (with Andy Lane)

The Burning (2000)

Time Zero (2002)

Sometime Never... (2004)

New Series Adventures

Ninth Doctor

The Clockwise Man (2005)

The Deviant Strain (2005)

Tenth Doctor

The Resurrection Casket (2006)

Martha in the Mirror (2008)

Eleventh Doctor

Apollo 23 (2010)

Plague of the Cybermen (2013)

Twelfth Doctor

Quick Reads

Code of the Krillitanes (2010)

The Darksmith Legacy

1: The Dust of Ages (2009)

4: The Depths of Despair (2009)

7: The Planet of Oblivion (2009)

10: The End of Time (2009)

Graphic novels

The Only Good Dalek (2010) (with artist Mike Collins)

Activity books

Time Lord in Training (2007) – with press-out and make models

Reference books

The Book of Lists (1997) (with Andrew Martin)

The Legend (2003)

The Legend Continues (2005)

The Doctor Who Monsters Books

1: Monsters And Villains (2005)

2: Aliens and Enemies (2006)

3: Creatures and Demons (2007)

4: Starships and Spacestations (2008)

The Ultimate Monster Guide (2009) – a collection of reworked extracts from the earlier books together with new material.

"Doctor Who: The Secret Lives of Monsters" (Oct. 2014)

Doctor Who Files

Taking Mickey in 5: Mickey (2006) (main writer Moray Laing)

A Dog's Life in 6: K-9 (2006) (main writer Jacqueline Rayner)

Mission to Galacton in 7: The Daleks (2006) (main writer Jacqueline Rayner)

Going off the Rails in 8: The Cybermen (2006) (main writer Jacqueline Rayner)

Needle Point in 9: Martha (2007) (main writer Moray Laing)

10: Captain Jack (2007) including the story Best Friends

Birth of a Legend in 11: The Cult of Skaro (2007) (main writer Matt Kemp)

12: The TARDIS (2007) including the story The Secret of the Stones

13: The Sontarans (2008) including the story Blind Terror

Disappearing Act in 14: The Ood (2008) (main writer Moray Laing)

For BBC Audiobooks

The Sarah Jane Adventures (original stories for Audio CD)

The Thirteenth Stone (2007)

For Big Finish Short Trips

Short Trips: Companions

The Splintered Gate (2003)

Short Trips: The Muses

The Glass Princess (Clio) (2003)

The Invisible Detective

Set in London in the 1930s, the series recounts the adventures of Arthur (Art) Drake, Jonny Levin, Meg Wallace and Flinch, who invented the "Invisible Detective" Brandon Lake and who investigate all his cases themselves. Each story has a parallel subplot set in the 2000s, where Art's grandson, also named Art, and his friend Sarah have related mysteries to solve.

The Paranormal Puppet Show (2003) (published as Double Life in America)

Shadow Beast (2003)

Ghost Soldiers (2003)

Killing Time (2003)

Faces of Evil (2004)

Web of Anubis (2004)

Stage Fright (2005)

Legion of the Dead (2005)

Chance Twins (Rich and Jade)

(written with Jack Higgins)

Sure Fire (2006)

Death Run (2007)

Sharp Shot (2009)

First Strike (2009)