Jeremy Strong is one of the UK’s highest profile authors for young readers and has a particular gift for humour which has seen him crowned Puffin’s King of Comedy.

He worked as a Head teacher before writing full-time and he has won a raft of awards including the Red House Children’s Book Award. He lives in Bath

Alan Garner was born and still lives in Cheshire, an area which has had a profound effect on his writing and provided the seed of many ideas worked out in his books. His fourth book, The Owl Service brought Alan Garner to everyone's attention.

It won two important literary prizes – The Guardian Award and the Carnegie Medal – and was made into a serial by Granada Television. It has established itself as a classic and Alan Garner as a writer of great distinction.

Richmal Crompton was born in 1890 and is best known for her thirty-eight books featuring William Brown, which were published between 1922 and 1970. Born in Lancashire, Crompton won a scholarship to Royal Holloway in London, where she trained as a schoolteacher, graduating in 1914, before turning to writing full-time in 1923. Alongside the William novels, Crompton wrote forty-one novels for adults, as well as nine collections of short stories. She died in 1969.

Russell Hoban is the author of many famous novels, including Turtle Diary and Riddley Walker, which won the John W. Campbell Award for science fiction.

He also wrote over 50 children’s books, including such classics as The Mouse and His Child, The Sea-Thing Child and, most recently, Rosie’s Magic Horse and Soonchild.

Born in Pennsylvania in 1925, he moved in 1969 to London, where he lived until his death in 2011.