Anne Fine is a distinguished writer for adults and children. She has twice won both the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Children's Book Award, and her novel Madame Doubtfire was adapted into the hugely successful film Mrs Doubtfire. In 2001 Anne became Children's Laureate and in 2003 she was awarded an OBE. Anne is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and her work has been translated into over forty languages. She has two grown-up daughters and lives in County Durham.
Sam Usher is the celebrated author-illustrator of the bestselling picture books Snow, Rain, Sun and Storm and has illustrated many other stories. He has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Red House Children's Book Award and longlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and is particularly admired for his technical drawing skill and prowess with watercolour. He is also a talented pianist and can often be found perfecting a fiendishly difficult piece of Chopin. He lives in Somerset.
