James William Mitchell (12 March 1926, in South Shields – 15 September 2002, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne) was a British writer, principally of crime fiction and spy thrillers.
The son of a shipyard worker, Mitchell also wrote under the pseudonyms James Munro and Patrick O. McGuire.
After graduating he tried numerous jobs, including shipyard worker and civil servant before taking up teaching, in his own words he taught, "for some 15 years in almost every kind of institution from secondary modern school to college of art".
[1][2] Mitchell created the ITV spy thriller Callan, starring Edward Woodward as a remorseful secret service assassin, and the BBC period drama When the Boat Comes In, starring James Bolam as a World War I veteran returning to his Tyneside hometown.
He also wrote many other television scripts, including episodes of The Troubleshooters, the legal drama Justice and The Avengers.