Anne Fine

A past Children's Laureate, and a multi award-winning author, Anne was awarded an OBE for services to literature in 2003.,When I was young, it never occurred to me that I might be a writer. I think I must have thought that books were born on the library shelves, recalls preeminent writer Anne Fine. So how did she end up as one of the best-loved and best-known children's authors of our time? Amazingly, Anne Fine claims to owe her beginning to bad weather. "One January there was such a blizzard I couldn't get to the library and so sat down and began a book of my own." This kind of gentle humor has become a trademark of Anne Fine's work. "I still adore funny books," she says. "And since I write for the reader inside myself, I always end up with the kind of book I would have loved to read (if only someone else had bothered to write for me)." It seems that many other readers have the same taste in literature as Anne Fine. One of her most recent titles, THE JAMIE AND ANGUS STORIES, wryly recounts the adventures of a boy and his toy Highland bull. The collection won enthusiastic reviews and has already become a staple for bedtime rituals and classroom read-alouds. Says PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, "The breezy, often humorous repartée . . . plus the authentic interplay of boy and toy keep the narrative moving at a sprightly clip." Although many readers find themselves giggling aloud as they read Anne Fine's writing, her books can be deceptively weighty. "A lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises quite serious social issues," she admits. "Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, audiences around the world had the opportunity to experience this unique combination of humor and realism in the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, inspired by Anne Fine's MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring comedic genius Robin Williams. Anne Fine lives in England with her two daughters and a "huge hairy dog." She is the author of more than fifty books for children and adults, and her work has been translated into twenty-five different languages. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was named Children's Laureate for 2002.

Mary Finn

Mary has had a lifelong fascination with India, which became the influence for her debut novel 'Anila's Journey'.

Barbara Firth

The multi-award-winning illustrator of the classic Little Bear series.,"I have been very lucky as my career in drawing is also my favorite hobby", says illustrator Barbara Firth. And it's a hobby that has interested her for as long as she can remember. When she was three, she began drawing plants and animals, and when she was eleven years old, her family moved to the country, enabling her to spend even more time sketching the flora and fauna around her. "I have always been biased toward illustrating natural history, so it was a joy to be able to draw pages and pages of bears," Barbara Firth says of her collaboration with Martin Waddell on CAN'T YOU SLEEP, LITTLE BEAR?, the first of their classic Big and Little Bear series. As part of her research she spent hours at a zoo, carefully watching and recording the movements and habits of bears. "The first thing I thought about them was that they had such mean little eyes, but of course I had to get rid of that thought immediately as it would frighten the children!" Barbara Firth teamed up again with Martin Waddell to illustrate TOM RABBIT, a sweet tale of being lost--and found. "At one time or another, we've all experienced the feeling of being forgotten, followed by the relief of being collected by someone we love," she says of this book's appeal. More recently, the pair collaborated on the whimsical HI, HARRY! THE MOVING STORY OF HOW ONE SLOW TORTOISE SLOWLY MADE A FRIEND. For inspiration, the illustrator turned to her own pet tortoise, Waldo, who had lived with her for the past twenty-five years. "Waldo has a one-track mind like Harry," she says. "But unlike Harry, Waldo is a fast mover when it comes to getting what he wants." Barbara Firth, who has illustrated numerous award-winning picture books, lives in Middlesex, England.

Suzanne Fisher Staples

Author of Daughter of the Wind, a moving novel set in modern Pakistan.

Paul Fleischman

A prolific author of picture books, novels, choral poetry, non-fiction, screenplays, an opera, adult fiction, and one play (so far!).,Step into the wood-shingled house I grew up in, and into the past. You find us gathered in the living room, listening to my writer father, Sid Fleischman, reading his latest chapter aloud. Outside, the breeze off the Pacific, ten blocks away, streams through the fruit trees my parents have planted and rustles the cornfield in our front yard -- the only cornfield in all of Santa Monica, California. Scant surprise that Paul Fleischman grew up to write WESLANDIA, about a grammar school misfit who founds a new civilization in his suburban backyard, built around a mysterious wind-sown plant. A taste for nonconformity and a love of the plant world run through many of his books, including THE ANIMAL HEDGE, in which a father uses a clipped shrub to guide his sons in choosing their careers. "My mother plays piano, my father classical guitar. From upstairs that evening comes the entrancing sound of my sisters playing a flute duet. The house resounds with Bach, Herb Alpert, Dodgers games, and Radio Peking coming from my shortwave radio." From that musical, multitrack upbringing came JOYFUL NOISE: POEMS FOR TWO VOICES, winner of the Newbery Medal, and BIG TALK, its sequel for a quartet of speakers. It's also the source of the author's madcap play, ZAP, a theatrical train wreck of seven simultaneous plays, the result of a stage company's attempt to compete with TV. "My father's interest in things historical has led to the purchase of a hand printing press. We've all learned to set type. I have my own business, printing stationery for my parents' friends. I read type catalogs along with Dylan Thomas and Richard Brautigan." History has informed many of Paul's books, from the colonial settings of his Newbery Honor book GRAVEN IMAGES, inspired by his years living in a two-hundred-year-old house in New Hampshire, to the newly updated DATELINE: TROY, which juxtaposes the Trojan War story with strikingly similar newspaper clippings from World War I to the Iraq War. "An old issue of MAD MAGAZINE sits on a table, along with a copy of the DAILY SUN-TIMES and WALNUT, the satiric underground paper I started with two friends, which landed us in the dean's office today -- again." What better education for the future author of a wicked parody of teen horror novels, A FATE TOTALLY WORSE THAN DEATH? Or for the visual humor of SIDEWALK CIRCUS, a wordless celebration of how much more children see than their elders? "Thirty-five years later, I still draw on Bach, living room theater, the look of letters on a page, and still aspire to the power of a voice coming from a radio late at night in a pitch-black room."

Curdella Forbes

Jamaican author of Flying With Icarus, a charming collection of short stories set in the Caribbean.

A.G. Ford

I grew up in Dallas, Texas with an active and creative mindset from the very beginning. My hands were on everything from pencils, dirt, and toys to whatever else I could find and explore. Busy my mind was, and still is. I honestly don't think I ever had a choice to be an artist, writer, or an analytical thinker. My brain had already decided. I am sure to ponder the creative world endlessly. Being an artist can be tricky because there is no actual blueprint for how to be successful or to make what is considered good art. Some view art passionately and others view art from a draftsman point of view such as, "How well is the work executed?" "How polished and detailed it is the piece?" Then there are those who view art from an intellectual standpoint: "What does the work mean?" I am not sure where I stand as an artist alone, but as an illustrator I definitely focus intensely on bringing the story to life. When reading, readers imagine visuals in their heads as they follow the story. My job is to make these images come to life. Luckily, I broke into the children's book industry with a New York Times Bestseller by Jonah Winter entitled BARACK. I have been illustrating children's books ever since. My first picture book with Candlewick is entitled GOAL. Written by Mina Javaherbin, this is a story about a group of young boys who play soccer in the shanty homes of South Africa. I had to research and spend a great deal of time thinking about the imagery in order to communicate the illustrations effectively. Textures, colors, and dark rich skin tones were all crucial in creating the art for this book. The drawings of the shanty homes had to be accurate in height and the textures had to appear rough and worn due to weather, wind, and the everyday wear and tear that is created by the hot sun, years of rain, and rust. Dirt and dust needed to appear smoky and brutal, clothes needed to look worn out, and soccer balls needed to fly! Personality from the kids needed to accurately display a range of emotions - happy and even frightful at times - and the action poses needed to display an enormous amount of intensity. This was definitely a fun book to illustrate, though the process offered challenges at times. Still, I feel that GOAL presents some of my best work. I am passionate about my work, but outside of the studio, I am just like everyone else. A few things you wouldn't know about me is that I love food, though I could probably eat rice and beans everyday for the rest of my life. I experiment with cooking and usually do some dancing and spinning when I think things are going well in the kitchen. I'm convinced this helps the food taste better! I live in Dallas, Texas and usually spend most of my days and nights in the studio, trying to create something new and inspiring. For more info and art visit me at www.agfordillustration.com. You can also follow my work more closely at my frequently updated blog, http://agford.blogspot.com.

Michael Foreman

One of the most outstanding creators of children's picture books today, Michael Foreman has won the Kate Greenaway award three times and two Nestle Smarties prizes.,Michael Foreman was born in the fishing village of Pakefield in Suffolk. His mother ran the village shop, and Michael used to deliver the newspapers. The illustrated magazines that were sold in the shop often inspired him. At the age of fifteen, Michael began to study art and had his first children's book published when he was still a student. Michael is married and has three sons. He spends most of his time in London, but regularly visits St Ives, Cornwall. He finds the sea very inspirational. "I love the sea because its colour can show different times of the day. I like to put in one or two night scenes, which again give you dark blue - and, of course, there are days with blue skies. Sometimes, amid all this blue, I have to go out of the way to put in differently coloured pictures - just to make that surprise when you turn the page." About His Work: Michael has worked on magazines, book jackets, animated films, TV adverts, and even for the police, sketching criminals described by witnesses. As well as illustrating many of his own books, Michael has illustrated over a hundred books for authors such as Shakespeare, J. M. Barrie, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. Michael has travelled widely - to Africa, Japan, the Arctic Circle, China and Malaysia, the Himalayas, Siberia and New Zealand - to research his books. "I do a lot of research when I'm travelling - I find it thrilling to discover the particular 'art' of different landscapes and work them into a book. But I find I have to travel by myself, otherwise I'm constantly getting involved in other people's impressions of a place... I try to be invisible when I'm travelling, so I tend to listen in on conversations rather than participate in them - I just want to look and draw."

Jack Foreman

A children's writer who works with his illustrator son to create fiction with a strong yet subtle message to children.