Barry Hutchison is a children's author, screenwriter, and director from Scotland. He wrote children's novels for Egmont Press under their 2Heads imprint, including books for the Beastly, Ben 10, and Ben 10: Alien Force series, and signed a six-book contract with HarperCollins in 2008. In 2013, Hutchison wrote 36 episodes of Bottom Knocker Street, a CITV comedy starring comedian Phill Jupitus. Since 2019 Hutchison has been releasing Scottish crime novels under the pen name JD Kirk. He lives in Fort William in the Highlands with his wife, Fiona, and their two children.