Kevin Crosssley-Holland was born in 1941 in Mursley, North Buckinghamshire, and grew up in Whiteleaf, in the Chilterns. He attended Oxford University and it was after failing his first exams that he developed a passion for Anglo-Saxon literature. He has translated Beowulf from the Anglo-Saxon, and his retellings of traditional tales include The Penguin Book of Norse Myths and British Folk Tales (reissued as The Magic Lands: Folk Tales of Britain and Ireland).

Kevin has also collaborated with composers, including two operas with Nicola Lefanu (The Green Children and The Wildman). He often lectures for the British Council and offers poetry and prose workshops and talks on the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings, King Arthur, heroines and heroes, and myth, legend and folk-tale.

Kevin Crossley-Holland is also renowned for his award-winning Arthur trilogy (The Seeing Stone, At the Crossing-Places and King of the Middle March) which combines historical fiction with the retelling of Arthurian legend. The Seeing Stone won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the Smarties Prize Bronze Medal, and the Tir na n-Og Award. The trilogy has won worldwide critical acclaim and has been translated into twenty-one languages.

After seven years teaching in Minnesota, Kevin Crossley-Holland now lives on the north Norfolk coast with his Minnesotan wife, Linda. He is an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, a patron of the Society of Storytelling, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Liz Kessler is fascinated by the sea and all the mysteries of the ocean. Does she believe in mermaids?

“To me, mermaids symbolise the merging of the real world that we inhabit, the mystery of the ocean and the fantasies and possibilities that exist just on the edges of our lives. In real life, the only mermaids I know are the ones in my books, but I like to believe that they might, just might, exist out there somewhere.”

“I moved to the farm from suburbia when I was five. We were in 100 acres of land, completely surrounded by animals – two ostriches, 60 impala and a giraffe called Jenny. When I think back to it, it is a miracle that I survived. There were crocodiles in the river and snakes in the undergrowth and we were in the middle of a war!”

“I gave up my vague ambition to be a vet when I realised you have to learn through dissection.”

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“My favourite place is the shoreline. I never stop believing something extraordinary will happen there – some treasure glint among the flotsam or some creature raise its head from the water. The ocean is so beautiful, so dangerous, so deep in mystery. The Tide Turner is a glimpse of what I imagine as I gaze at the sea...”.

   
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“I thought I would be a lawyer until I looked at a few law-school books”

When she is not writing books Francesca Simon is doing theatre and restaurant reviews or chasing after her Tibetan Spaniel, Shanti.

First published in 1968 The Giant Under the Snow is a classic fantasy story and one which transcends age. Author John Gordon is delighted to see it brought to life for a new generation of fans.

“Ever since The Giant Under the Snow went out of print I have had people who had read it as children wanting to read it again with their own children but hadn't been able to find it . . . well now the Giant walks again in a really splendid edition, wonderfully illustrated, and I am as delighted to see it as Jonk, Bill and Arf were when Elizabeth Goodenough gave them the power to fly.”

Best-selling author of Wolf Brother and Spirit Walker Michelle Paver re-reads The Giant Under the Snow almost every year, saying: “I’ve loved this book since I was a child. Breathtakingly exciting, and quite impossible to put down; on each re-reading it’s as vivid and powerful as it was the first time.”

“Writing fantasy isn’t writing for children, but it erases the distinctions; it’s inherently a crossover genre. Much of fantasy writing is about power – just look at Tolkien. It’s a means to examine what it does to the person who has it, and to others. The great instrument of moral good is the imagination. If you cannot or will not imagine the results of your actions, there’s no way you can act morally or responsibly. Little kids can’t do it, their imagination has to be trained into foresight and empathy.”

 

Siberia is the breathtaking and original story of Sloe and her mother, set in the frozen wastes of the future. They are guardians of strange ‘seed kits’ and when her mother disappears, Sloe must make the journey to a safe haven alone. Critically acclaimed and shortlisted for the Booktrust Teenage Prize it is an absorbing and thought-provoking novel for young teens.

“Perceptive about greed and and jealousy in an environment where everyone has too little, Halam’s novel reminds us that hope and love survive, while the heroine’s tender relationship with creatures and her indomitable mother are the core of the adventure and give it its humanity and power.” Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times

 

Another exciting adventure for the four young Roman sleuthes as they set off around Greece in pursuit of their tutor, Aristo. The author, Caroline Lawrence says:

“One of my aims in writing historical novels for children is to provide books which children can take on holiday with them: books that will open their eyes to the history and myths of the region. Having written about Ostia, Rome, Pompeii, Sorrento and some of the Greek Islands I decided to set my latest mystery on the Greek mainland. The research took me to some of my favourite places – Corinth, Delphi and Athens. If you’re going to Greece with kids this year, you’ll definitely want to take this book with you!”

 

“I always wanted to illustrate children's books and I always told stories, but I honestly never thought it would be possible to write a book because of my dyslexia.”

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John Brindley is a compelling and very distinctive writer with terrific insight into teenage relationships, hopes and fears.

“Brindley sensitively unwraps the myths of fame, revealing that having everything can mean losing what you most value.” www.writeaway.org.uk   

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Asterix books have been translated into 107 languages and sold over 320 million copies worldwide.