Paul Magrs is a writer and lecturer. He was born in Jarrow, England, and now lives in Manchester with his partner, author and lecturer Jeremy Hoad.
The Manchester Book Award is a project run in Manchester, UK, organised by School Services at the Manchester Library & Information Service; it is funded by the Working Neighbourhoods Fund. The project is currently in its fourth year.
Marcus Sedgwick was a British writer and illustrator. He authored several young adult and children's books and picture books, a work of nonfiction and several novels for adults, and illustrated a collection of myths and a book of folk tales for adults. According to School Library Journal his "most acclaimed titles" were those for young adults.
Here Lies Arthur is a young-adult novel by Philip Reeve, published by Scholastic in 2007. Set in fifth or sixth century Britain and the Anglo-Saxon invasion, it features a girl who participates in the deliberate construction of legendary King Arthur during the man's lifetime, orchestrated by a bard. Reeve calls it a back-creation: not a genuine historical novel as it is not based on actual specific events; rather it is "back-created" from the legends, giving them a "realistic" origin.
Beast is a 2006 young adult novel by Ally Kennen. It won the 2007 Manchester Book Award, and was shortlisted for the 2006 Booktrust Teenage Prize, the 2007 Carnegie Medal and the 2007 Branford Boase Award.
The Booktrust Teenage Prize was an annual award given to young adult literature published in the UK. The prize was administered by Book Trust, an independent charity which promotes books and reading. The Booktrust Teenage Prize was last awarded in 2010 and is no longer running.
Ally Kennen is a British author of adventure novels for children and teens. Some of her books have been marketed as thrillers and they may be classed as horror fiction.
The Medici Seal is a 2006 young adult novel written by Theresa Breslin. Set among the cultural life and political intrigues of Renaissance Italy, it is the story of a boy who initially calls himself Matteo and his master Leonardo da Vinci.
Just in Case is a young-adult novel by Meg Rosoff published by Penguin in 2006. Its adolescent protagonist David Case spends the majority of the book attempting to avoid fate. Rosoff won the annual Carnegie Medal, recognising the year's best children's book published in the U.K. In a press release announcing the award, the librarians called it "a story about death, depression, sex, choice and survival."
Jenny Valentine is an English children's novelist. For her first novel and best-known work, Finding Violet Park, she won the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a once-in-a-lifetime book award judged by a panel of British children's writers. Valentine lives in Glasbury-on-Wye, Wales with her husband singer/songwriter Alex Valentine, with whom she runs a health food shop in nearby Hay-on-Wye.
The Kiss of Death is a novel written by Marcus Sedgwick, and the sequel to My Swordhand is Singing. It is based in 18th Century Venice, and follows the story of a young boy called Marco, who is searching for his father who has gone missing. Soon enough, old adversaries emerge.
Patrick Ness is an American-British author, journalist, lecturer, and screenwriter. Born in the United States, Ness moved to London and holds dual citizenship. He is best known for his books for young adults, including the Chaos Walking trilogy and A Monster Calls.
Creature of the Night is a young adult novel by Kate Thompson. It was first published by Bodley Head on 5 June 2008. It was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the 2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize.
Looking for JJ is a young adult novel by British author Anne Cassidy, first published in 2004. It is about a teenage girl who was convicted of murder as a child. The novel was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the Whitbread Book Award and was the winner of the 2004 Booktrust Teenage Prize.
Matt Whyman is a British novelist, also known for his work as an advice columnist for numerous teenage magazines.
Sarah Singleton is a British journalist and author of adult and young adult fiction. She received the Booktrust Teenage Prize for her novel Century in 2005.
Anthony John McGowan is an English author of books for children, teenagers and adults. He is the winner of the 2020 CILIP Carnegie Medal for Lark.
Helen Grant is an English author of novels for young adults, now based in Crieff, Scotland. She is a 2011 recipient of the Alex Awards.
Louisa Young is a British novelist, songwriter, short-story writer, biographer and journalist, whose work has appeared in 32 languages. By 2023 she had published seven novels under her own name and five with her daughter, the actor Isabel Adomakoh Young, under the pen name Zizou Corder. Her eleventh novel, Devotion, appeared in June 2016. She has also written three non-fiction books, The Book of the Heart and A Great Task of Happiness. Her memoir, You Left Early: A True Story of Love and Alcohol, is an account of her relationship with the composer Robert Lockhart and of his alcoholism. Her most recent novel, Twelve Months and a Day, was published in June 2022 in the UK, and in the US in January 2023 (Putnam). She is currently working on a Musical Theatre adaptation.
John Sedgwick is an American author. He has written or co-written 15 books and has published numerous magazine articles. His book subjects have included the Philadelphia Zoo, his family history, Alexander Hamilton's duel with Aaron Burr, railroad companies competing to link up with the western United States, wealthy children, and the Cherokee Nation. He has also written novels.
