I’ve been a writer for over 20 years now, but it wasn’t planned! I left school at age 16, and because I really didn’t know what else to do, I spent a year at secretarial college. I figured out there was always going to be a job going for a secretary. However, apart from a short stint at the B.B.C. as possibly the worst secretary ever, I changed direction and started working at Harrods, London as a trainee buyer. A couple of years later I discovered the cut and thrust of retailing really wasn’t for me. I took on various other jobs, including working as a dental nurse (which incidentally didn’t cure my fear of dentists!) and as a production assistant in a reprographic and printing company. I began to write after joining a creative writing class. I had no success with article writing, or short stories, or fiction, but the first children’s story I wrote, for a magazine called Twinkle, was accepted for publication. Hooray!!! Things snowballed and a lot (yes lots and lots) of hard work later I now write full time and have over 100 books published. I still go to the same writing class and we have become a big happy family of writers! For me, writing is the best job ever. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love to create worlds for young children to enjoy and escape into – whether the stories are educational, bedtime, problem solving or just plain good fun. It’s also very exciting to see the first picture roughs, as my wonderful, talented illustrators bring the text to life. I live on the Essex coast with my husband Michael, just a minutes walk to the seafront. At long last I have an office to write in, with room for all my books and bits of scribbled on papers! I still find that a bracing walk (it gets freezing when the East wind blows from the North Sea!) or gentle stroll when the weather is warmer, is great for clearing my head and mulling over story ideas. In my spare time I love walking along the sea path and eating out at our favourite beach-side cafe. I also enjoy shopping for clothes (I am very girly but not everything is pink!) and catching up with my friends. I am thinking of joining a dance class or zumba to keep fit! If I could be anywhere in the world I would be with Michael on a beautiful sandy beach near St Ives, in Cornwall. We’d be eating a Kelly’s Cornish Ice cream (32 flavours to choose from, and I haven’t tried them all – yet!!) and cooling our toes in the Atlantic surf. Cream teas and Cornish pasties would probably feature too! Heaven! Anyway – that’s enough of my day-dreaming. Back to work...!

BOOK AWARDS ALIENS LOVE UNDERPANTS BAFTA TV Series – nominated best short form (animation) 2019 Grand Canyon Reader Award 2017 The Nibbies 2010 shortlist Panda Award (Beijing) 2009 winner Sheffield Book Award 2008 winner picture book Richard and Judy Book Club Award 2007 winner DINOSAURS LOVE UNDERPANTS Galaxy British Book Award 2009 shortlist SPIDER SANDWICHES Sheffield Book Award 2014 – winner picture book and overall category (apparently Spider Sandwiches is a favourite book of Prince George, according to Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge) Please click on the link for more details…. THEATRE STAGE SHOWS Pirates Love Underpants The Musical! Will be touring UK theatres in Spring/Summer 2022. Aliens Love Underpants and the book Monstersaurus! have both been made into stage shows touring the UK and abroad. TVANIMATIONS/ PROGRAMMES Aliens Love Panta Claus (2019) and Pirates Love Underpants (2020) have both been made into Christmas specials on Sky TV. Produced by Tiger Aspect Productions. Aliens Love Underpants and ...... is a weekly short animation programme also on Sky TV. Many of my other books have featured on CBeebies, and other children’s TV programmes.

Sheffield Book Awards presented by Michael Rosen (far left)

Illustration © Ali Pye from our book Teeny-Weeny Queenie

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