Geraldine McCaughrean has written over 140 books and plays for both adults and children, including Peter Pan in Scarlet, the official sequel to J M Barrie's Peter Pan, which was one of the most talked about and successful children's titles of 2006. Geraldine McCaughrean has won the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Children's Book Award (three times), the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Smarties Bronze Award (four times), the Blue Peter Book of the Year award and the Blue Peter Special Book to Keep Forever award. Geraldine is the first author to have been short listed, by librarians, for the Carnegie Medal six times, on at least one occasion in each of the past four decades, thus once again recognising the quality of her writing over the years. Geraldine McCaughrean's novels and retellings for children have won her the CARNEGIE MEDAL, GUARDIAN CHILDREN'S FICTION AWARD, WHITBREAD AWARD and THE BEEFEATER AWARD. A prolific author who writes for all ages, she lives in Berkshire with her family. Visit her website at www.geraldinemccaughrean.co.uk Maria Nilsson grew up in Sweden but moved to London in 2001. She studied BA Illustration at the University of Westminster, achieving a first class honours degree. After graduating she worked as a freelance illustrator until the birth of her children. When they started toddling, Maria took up her pencil again and in 2009 was shortlisted for the Picture This competition (Macmillan and Waterstones' search for a new illustrator for an exclusive Julia Donaldson story). She still loves illustrating her own stories, as well as illustrating for others. Maria is a debut talent whom we have great hopes for. She lives in south London with her husband and two children.
