"Phineas Cricket" is the pen name of Mark Giffen, an indie writer based in New Mexico. He writes mainly for young people.

Mark was born in Libya, raised overseas, and educated at The University of Chicago.  He was a teacher for a number of years (elementary and middle school) and later worked mostly in libraries.

Mark has written throughout his life, though publications have been few and far between. His short story "Krisda Mathusda is a Buddhist" won the Bridport fiction prize in 1984. His story "Fireflies" appeared in The Baltimore Review (Summer, 2000). More recently, he wrote The Legend of Robin Goodfellow while wandering the New Mexican desert in his pickup and living in a 13-foot trailer. Frred followed shortly after, and is due to be published this November. A YA spy novel, The Year of the Tiger, set in Singapore during the last days of the Vietnam War, is scheduled for release in 2025.