Geoffrey McSkimming facts for kids

Geoffrey McSkimming (born 1 January 1962) is a super cool Australian writer. He writes exciting books and poems for kids and teens! He's famous for his long series like the Cairo Jim chronicles and Jocelyn Osgood jaunts. He also writes the fun Phyllis Wong mystery novels. Plus, he's published three books of poetry.

Geoffrey McSkimming was born in Sydney, Australia. To make his Cairo Jim stories feel real, he traveled to many amazing places. These include Egypt, Peru, Tanzania (and Zanzibar), Greece, Mexico, Turkey, Italy, and Singapore. He often gives talks about his books. He sometimes appears with his wife, the magician Sue-Anne Webster, especially when promoting the Phyllis Wong mystery series.

Geoffrey McSkimming has written more than seventy short stories for magazines. He has also contributed poems to different poetry books. He recorded the Cairo Jim chronicles as audiobooks for Bolinda Publishing. His audiobook, Ogre in a Toga and Other Perverse Verses, was even nominated for an Audie Award in the US in 2008. From 2000 to 2013, he wrote five special tours for the Art Gallery of NSW in Sydney, Australia. In June 2006, he went on a book tour in the UK for Walker Books. They released ten of his Cairo Jim books there.

His 25th novel, Phyllis Wong and the Crumpled Stranger, came out in 2020. It was published by 9 Diamonds Press. He is currently working on the eighth book in the Phyllis Wong Time Detective mystery series.

All the Cairo Jim chronicles are now available as e-books. New print versions are also being released by 9 Diamonds Press. A brand new Cairo Jim novel, Cairo Jim and the Portal of Peristophanes -- The Return of Cairo Jim, was published in October 2021. Geoffrey McSkimming loves collecting and reading old detective and mystery books. He is especially interested in the books by Fergus Hume.

Discovering Geoffrey McSkimming's Books

Geoffrey McSkimming has written many exciting books for young readers. His stories take you on amazing adventures!

The Cairo Jim Adventures

The Cairo Jim series follows the adventures of an archaeologist and his friends. They travel the world solving mysteries and finding ancient treasures.

• Cairo Jim and the Portal of Peristophanes – The Return of Cairo Jim (2021)
• Cairo Jim and the Astragals of Angkor (2007; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim at the Crossroads of Orpheus (2006; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim and the Sumptuous Stash of Silenus (2005; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood in Bedlam from Bollywood (2004; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim and the Rorting of Rameses' Regalia (2003; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim and the Chaos from Crete (2002; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim and the Tyrannical Bauble of Tiberius (2001; ebook and revised edition 2017)
• Cairo Jim and the Lagoon of Tidal Magnificence (2000; ebook and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim Amidst the Petticoats of Artemis (2000; ebook and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim and the Secret Sepulchre of the Sphinx (1999; ebook and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim and the Quest for the Quetzal Queen (1997; ebook and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim's Bumper Book of Flabbergasting Fragments (1996)
• Cairo Jim and the Alabastron of Forgotten Gods (1996; ebook and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim and the Sunken Sarcophagus of Sekheret (1994; e-book and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim on the Trail to ChaCha Muchos (1992; ebook and revised edition 2016)
• Cairo Jim & Doris in Search of Martenarten (1991; ebook and revised edition 2016)

The Jocelyn Osgood Jaunts

The Jocelyn Osgood series follows another brave adventurer on her own exciting journeys.

• Jocelyn Osgood: Ascent into Asgard (1998; ebook and revised edition 2024)
• Jocelyn Osgood: Xylophones above Zarundi (1995; ebook and revised edition 2024)
• Jocelyn Osgood: After the Puce Empress (1993; ebook and revised edition 2024)

Phyllis Wong Mysteries

The Phyllis Wong books are mystery novels featuring a clever young detective.

• Phyllis Wong and the Crumpled Stranger (2020)
• Phyllis Wong and the Vanishing Emeralds (2018)
• Phyllis Wong and the Girl who Danced with Lightning (2017)
• Phyllis Wong and the Pockets of the Shadows (2016)
• Phyllis Wong and the Waking of the Wizard (2015; ebook and revised edition 2018)
• Phyllis Wong and the Return of the Conjuror (2014; ebook and revised edition 2018)
• Phyllis Wong and the Secrets of Mr. Okyto (2012; ebook and revised edition 2018)

Poetry Collections

Geoffrey McSkimming also writes fun and quirky poems.

• Ogre in a Toga and More Perverse Verse (2023)
• Ogre in a Toga and Other Perverse Verses (2008)

Other Works

• The Startling Tale of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (2016)

His Cairo Jim and Jocelyn Osgood books have been published in many different languages. You can find them in Australia, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, Portugal, Germany, Italy, Poland, Russia, Hungary, and New Zealand.

How the Stories Began

Geoffrey McSkimming shares a cool story about how he got the idea for Cairo Jim.

When he was a boy, he found an old movie projector and a dusty film in his grandmother's attic. He watched the film and was amazed by the flickering image. It showed a man wearing a cool pith helmet and special desert sunglasses. This man had a smart macaw (a type of parrot) and a clever camel. Geoffrey was totally hooked by their adventures in black-and-white. They explored places like Egypt, Peru, Greece, Mexico, Sumatra, Turkey, and Italy.

Years later, he found out who the trio was. Since then, he has spent lots of time following their old paths. He even interviewed people who were part of the "Old Relics Society." Slowly, he put together the true stories of Cairo Jim. These stories became the super popular Cairo Jim chronicles that we know today!