Tom Percival studied graphic design in South Wales. His illustration career has seen him design Halloween merchandise for a major supermarket, create the character ‘Hector’ for an Aardman-animated road safety campaign and produce cover art for a number of successful children’s fiction series, including ‘Skulduggery Pleasant’. He lives in Bristol with his girlfriend, their baby son and next door’s cat.
Hannah Gold is a multi-award-winning and bestselling author known for writing heartwarming adventure stories. Her books – including The Last Bear, The Lost Whale, Finding Bear and Turtle Moon – have won several major awards such as the Blue Peter Book Award and the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Translated into twenty-eight languages, her books are beloved by readers around the world. Hannah currently lives in Lincolnshire with her tortoise and her husband.
@HGold_author | www.hannahgold.world
Ross Welford was a journalist and television producer before becoming a full-time writer. He lives in London with his wife, children, a border collie and several tropical fish.
Ian Whybrow’s many popular successes range from picture books to novels for older children. Best known for his original humour, he always writes with adult readers as well as young ones in mind. He has a brilliant ear for voices, and takes pride in the fact that his work reads aloud very well. ‘I loved being read to as a child,’ he says. ‘And I loved the sense that my parents were enjoying it too. For me, that’s the acid test for any book – that there’s something in it for everyone to enjoy.
David Walliams is a children’s author. He published his first novel in 2008 and has since written over forty books for children, including fiction and picture books.
Holly Smale is the author of Geek Girl, Model Misfit, Picture Perfect and All That Glitters. She was unexpectedly spotted by a top London modelling agency at the age of fifteen and spent the following two years falling over on catwalks, going bright red and breaking things she couldn’t afford to replace. By the time Holly had graduated from Bristol University with a BA in English Literature and an MA in Shakespeare she had given up modelling and set herself on the path to becoming a writer.
Jeanne Willis wrote her first book aged five and has now written over 300 titles. She has won numerous awards, including the Children’s Book Award, the Silver Smarties Prize and has been shortlisted for the Whitbread Award. As well as her extensive writing experience Jeanne once worked as a reptile vet’s assistant, has owned just about every pet you can think of, breeds exotic beetles and fosters hedgehogs. She has never performed in an animal talent show but she did get married at London Zoo.
Sir Michael Morpurgo OBE FRSL FKC DL is a writer, playwright, performer and librettist. The author of more than 150 children’s books, he has sold over 35 million copies worldwide and in almost 40 languages. A former teacher and vocal spokesperson for the benefits of reading for pleasure, he is currently the President of Book Trust. Between 2003–2005 he was Children’s Laureate and in 2018 he was knighted for services to literature and charity. Many of Michael’s books have been adapted for stage and screen, including the phenomenal National Theatre adaptation of War Horse, which has been seen by over 10 million people in over 100 cities around the world, broke the West End record for weekly ticket sales, and won 5 Tony Awards and 2 Olivier Awards. Michael is also the co-founder, with his wife Clare, of the charity Farms for City Children.
Michael Bond was born in Newbury, Berkshire on 13 January 1926 and educated at Presentation College, Reading. He served in the Royal Air Force and the British Army before working as a cameraman for BBC TV for 19 years. In 2015, Michael was awarded a CBE for his services to children’s literature, to add to the OBE he received in 1997. Michael died in 2017, leaving behind one of the great literary legacies of our time.
Andy Cutbill was born near London in 1972. He read Art at university and then did post-graduate studies in Art Direction. After several years creating television commercials, he started writing children’s animation and picture books. In conjuction with Cosgrove Hall Films, Andy created and developed the award-winning animated television series, Albie, for CITV. Andy lives on Dartmoor in Devon with his wife, son and daughter.
Jean Ure was born in Surrey and, when growing up, knew that she was going to be a writer or a ballet dancer. She began writing when she was six years old and had her first book published while she was still at school. Jean is a vegan and animal lover. She lives with her husband, seven dogs and four cats in a 300 year old house in Croydon.
Noel Streatfeild, the plain middle child between two talented and pretty sisters, trained at RADA and acted for nine years before writing Ballet Shoes, an instant bestseller, in 1936. As vicarage daughter, factory girl, actress, model, social worker, writer, and crusader for good books, Noel touched many aspects of life. Her experiences enriched her stories, which were so popular that, by her eightieth birthday, she had earned herself the title of ‘a national monument’. She died in 1986.
