James Albert "Jan" Needle (8 February 1943 - 9 October 2023) was an English author and was an episode writer for Thomas and Friends.
He started writing stories and novels after he left full-time journalism.
He has also written for "Sooty", "A Game of Soldiers", "Brookside", "Count Duckula", "Truckers", "Dramarama", "Behind the Bike Sheds" and "The Bill" as well as quite a few novels for both children and adults. He also wrote a TV Movie called "Soft Soap".
He has also written a "young person's" range of books which simplifies classic novels like "Moby Dick" for children. Needle also wrote a sequel to "The Wind in the Willows" titled "Wild Wood" (the illustrations were done by Willie Rushton).
He died in a Manchester hospice on 9 October 2023 at the age of eighty.