Andrew Cope is the award-winning author of the much-loved Spy Dog series, selling almost 300,000 copies of his books in the UK alone. He has won numerous book awards including the Redhouse Children’s Book of the Year Award in 2006 and Richard and Judy’s Book Club (7+) in 2007. He is a teacher, writer, and a huge fan of Derby County football club. He currently lives with his wife and two children in the middle of nowhere.
Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson was born on 13 November 1850, changing his second name to ‘Louis’ at the age of eighteen. He has always been loved and admired by countless readers and critics for ‘the excitement, the fierce joy, the delight in strangeness, the pleasure in deep and dark adventures’ found in his classic stories and, without doubt, he created some of the most horribly unforgettable characters in literature and, above all, Mr. Edward Hyde.
Beverley Naidoo was born in South Africa and grew up under apartheid. After arrest and detention without trial, she came to England. She married another exile and was only able to return freely twenty-six years later, after Nelson Mandela’s release from jail. Their two children were brought up in England where she still lives. She goes back to South Africa to stay in touch, especially with young people. A teacher for many years, she has a doctorate in education and a number of honorary degrees.
David Thorpe lives in the mountains not far from the beaches of beautiful mid-Wales. He spends his time wondering. When he was smaller he noticed that most adults seemed to have forgotten what it was like to be a child and vowed to try not to do the same himself. Previously he has worked on the sewers, written comics, published eco-books and been a journalist. If you want to make him happy you can help to save the tiger from extinction.
Born in Cheshire in 1928, Robert Leeson was a journalist for forty years, interrupted by army service in Egypt. He began to write for children in the 1960s and has had over 65 books published including ‘The Third Class Genie – now a Collins Modern Classic- and The Demon Bike Rider. In 1985 he received the Eleanor Farjeon Award for services to children’s literature. Married, with a son and daughter, Robert lives in Hertfordshire.
Kimberly Dean is an award-winning author of over twenty books of romance and erotica. Her work has been sold around the world and translated into French, German, and Japanese. She enjoys the freedom and creativity allowed in writing erotic romance, especially with all the interesting cross-genres that have been exploding on the scene. When not writing, she enjoys movies, sports, travelling, music, and sunshine.
Born in Boston in 1919, Richard Scarry’s drawing talent led him to study at the Boston Museum School. He began his career in New York City as an illustrator and freelance artist, and in 1963 he published his first book, The Best Word Book Ever, which became an international best-seller.
