LAURIE HALSE ANDERSON

Laurie Halse Anderson lives in the USA and is the multi-award-winning author of many bestselling novels, including Speak and Fever 1793. Chains is the first in a series of three books to feature the defiant heroine, Isabel. In 2008, Laurie received the ALAN Award from the high school English teachers of America for her outstanding contributions to the field of adolescent literature.

When not writing she enjoys mountain hikes, running marathons and spending time in her large garden.

NEIL GAIMAN

Neil Gaiman is a tour de force of creative talent. He is the bestselling author of Coraline and Stardust, both of which are major motion films. Neil also co-wrote the script for Beowulf starring Anthony Hopkins and Angeline Jolie. He is the creator/writer of the award-winning Sandman comic series and has written several books for children. Neil has been immortalised in song by Tori Amos, and is a songwriter himself.

His official website (www.neilgaiman.com) now has more than one million unique visitors each month, and his online journal is syndicated to thousands of blog readers every day. For more information about Neil visit: www.neilgaiman.co.uk

HELEN GRANT

Helen Grant was born in London. She read Classics at St Hugh's College, Oxford, and then worked in marketing for ten years in order to fund her love of travelling. In 2001 she and her family moved to Bad MŸnstereifel in Germany, and it was exploring the legends of this beautiful town that inspired her to write her first novel, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden. Her second chilling and gripping new novel, The Glass Demon, publishes in May 2010. She now lives in Brussels with her husband, her two children and a small German cat.

JULIE HEARN

Julie Hearn began her working life as a journalist. After her daughter was born, she started a degree in Education but switched to English after suffering a panic attack while attempting to teach maths to year six. In 1999 she received an M.St. in women's studies from Oxford University (it is a continuing source of amusement to her that she went from writing a mother and baby column for the Daily Star to researching witch-hunts and maternal power in early modern England).

Julie read in Oxford's Bodleian Library, about a young girl who was shown as a fairground "monster" in the 18th century, inspired her first novel Follow Me Down (2003) Since then she has written about witchcraft (The Merrybegot, 2005); the beauty and perils of the Victorian art world (Ivy, 2006), and the legacy of the Slave Trade (Hazel, 2007). She has been nominated four times for the CILIP Carnegie Medal.

Rowan the Strange, she says, is as much about the craziness of so-called normal life as it is about a young boy's state of mind. The more she wrote the harder it became to hold onto, or defend, conventional definitions of madness. You can find out more about Julie on her website: www.juliehearn.co.uk

PATRICK NESS

I've only ever really wanted to be a writer and was working on my first novel when I moved to London in 1999. I've lived here ever since. So far, I've published two books for adults, a novel called The Crash of Hennington and a short story collection called Topics About Which I Know Nothing.

Here's a helpful hint if you want to be a writer: When I'm working on a first draft, all I write is 1000 words a day, which isn't that much (I started out with 300 now I can do 1000 easy). And if I write my 1000 words, I'm done for the day, even if it only took an hour (it usually takes more, of course, but not always). Novels are anywhere from 60,000 words on up, so it's possible that just sixty days later you might have a whole first draft.

The Knife of Never Letting Go is 112,900 words and took about seven months to get a good first draft. Lots of rewrites followed. That's the fun part, where the book really starts to come together just exactly how you see it, the part where you feel like a real writer. Find out more about Patrick on his website: www.patrickness.com

TERRY PRATCHETT

Terry Pratchett's life changed at the age of 10 when he was given a copy of Wind in the Willows and he became a voracious reader. His first novel, The Carpet People, was published when he was 23 and he continued to write in his spare time whilst working on local newspapers. His first Discworld novel, The Colour of Magic was published in 1983 and in 1987 he gave up his journalism job and began writing full time.

The Discworld novels are aimed primarily at adults but appeal to readers of all ages. They have been translated into 37 languages. He is one of very few authors to have topped both the adult and children's bestseller lists simultaneously

Terry has a separate strand of Discworld books aimed at older children. He was awarded the 2001 CILIP Carnegie Medal for the first of these, The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, which topped the bestsellers lists simultaneously with Night Watch.

Several of Terry's novels have been dramatised for the stage and television. He was awarded the OBE for services to literature 1998 and received a knighthood for services to literature in 2009. For more information about Terry Pratchett visit: www.terrypratchett.co.uk

PHILIP REEVE

Philip Reeve was born and raised in Brighton, where he worked in a bookshop for a number of years while also co-writing, producing and directing a number of no-budget theatre projects. He then began illustrating and has since provided cartoons for around forty children's books, including the best-selling Horrible Histories, Murderous Maths and Dead Famous series.

Philip has been writing stories since he was five, but Mortal Engines was the first to be published. Since Mortal Engines's release, fans of the series have been growing exponentially. Philip is now known as one of the leading writers for young adults, with glowing review coverage and award nominations.

In 2007, Philip took a new direction with publication of Here Lies Arthur, a story set in the times of King Arthur. The book received a fantastic reaction from the media and his reader fans. It won the 2008 CILIP Carnegie Medal.

Philip lives on Dartmoor with his wife and son, and his interests are walking, drawing, writing and reading. You can find out more about Philip and his books on his website: www.philip-reeve.com

MARCUS SEDGWICK

Marcus Sedgwick used to work in children's publishing and before that he was a bookseller. His books have been shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. His novel THE FORESHADOWING was Carnegie longlisted. He now happily writes full-time. He lives in Cambridge and has a young daughter, Alice.

For more information about Marcus visit his website: www.marcussedgwick.com