Sam Sedgman

Sedgman is from Berkshire. His father is an architect in the Reading area.^[1] Sedgman attended Wellington College, where he was a member of Ironduke and took part in theatre. He went to the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival with his school.^[2] Sedgman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English and Creative Writing from the University of Warwick in 2009.^[3] He went on to complete a Master of Arts (MA) in Text and Performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and also studied at King's College London.^[4]

Sedgman began his career theatre. He wrote the fringe dark comedy play Black and White and Red^[5] and worked for the National Theatre (NT) as a digital consultant and producer. He also hosted the NT's podcast.^[6]

Due to Sedgman's knowledge of and enthusiasm for railways, his friend M. G. Leonard invited him to collaborate on a railway-themed children's book series.^[7] Via a six-way auction in summer 2018,^[8] Macmillan Children's Books acquired the rights to publish the series titled Adventures on Trains,^[9] starting with The Highland Falcon Thief in January 2020. It was named Children's Book of the Week by Alex O'Connell of The Times.^[10] The Highland Falcon Thief won the British Book Award for Children's Fiction Book of the Year and the Children's Book Award for Younger Readers, in addition to a Books Are My Bag Readers' Award in the Children's Fiction category. Further books in the series included Kidnap on the California Comet^[11] and Murder on the Safari Star,^[12] which were both shortlisted for Best Juvenile at the Edgar Awards. The series was rounded out by Sabotage on the Solar Express^[13] and The Arctic Railway Assassin in 2022.

Sedgman published his debut non-fiction book Epic Adventures: Explore the World in 12 Amazing Train Journeys in 2022.^[14] Sam Brewster provided the book's illustrations. This was followed by Epic Cities: Take a Tour of 24 Cities in 2025.

As announced in 2022, Bloomsbury Children's acquired the rights to publish Sedgman's solo fiction debut The Clockwork Conspiracy in 2024, the first installment in a middle-grade thriller series.^[15][16] Sedgman first came up with the concept in 2016, inspired by the grandfather clock in his childhood home and a trip he took with his father to see Big Ben.^[1] The Clockwork Conspiracy was shortlisted for an Indie Book Award and a Books Are My Bag Readers' Award, both in the Children's Fiction category, as well as the Children's Book Award for Older Readers and the KS2 Award at the James Reckitt Hull Children's Book Awards.

In December 2023, Kindle Entertainment optioned the rights to adapt Adventures on Trains for film.^[17]