abstract:John Rowe Townsend (born 22 May 1922) is a British children's writer and children's literature scholar. His best-known children's novel is The Intruder, which won a 1971 Edgar Award, and his best-known academic work is Written for Children: An Outline of English Language Children's LiteratureFantastic Fiction: Written for Children bibliographical information (1965), the definitive work of its time on the subject.