The Boy in the Dress

Children's Laureate 1999-2001
Quentin Blake was born in 1932 and read English at Cambridge, before attending Chelsea Art College. He has won many major prizes for illustration, including the Kate Greenaway Medal (1980) and the Red House Children's Book Award (1981) for Mister Magnolia. He is also the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration and in 1990 was voted 'The Illustrator's Illustrator' by Observer Magazine. A tireless promoter of children's literature – and a long-time collaborator with roald Dahl –  Quentin Blake was awarded the OBE in 1988 and in 2005 he was awarded a CBE for services to Children's Literature. In the most recent New Year’s Honours list he has been knighted.

Quentin was the inaugural Children's Laureate (1999-2001), an experience he recorded in his book Laureate's Progress. During his time in the role, he celebrated children's books and children's book illustration with a range of projects and exhibitions, and conceived the idea for the House of Illustration, the world's first centre dedicated to the art of illustration in all its forms.   

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Multi-talented David Walliams is the fastest growing children’s author in the UK market, selling an average of 20,000 books each week. David began his publishing career at HarperCollins in early 2008 with his debut novel, The Boy in the Dress, followed by Mr. Stink in 2009, Billionaire Boy in 2010 and Gangsta Granny in 2011. Cumulatively, David’s first four titles sold over a million copies in the UK alone. Gangsta Granny went straight to number 1 in the children’s book charts and globally his books have been translated into no fewer than 25 languages.

David’s ever-growing army of loyal fans, the sacks of fan mail and countless five-star reviews are testament to his ongoing commitment to creating the very best in literary entertainment for children. His books have been met with unanimous critical acclaim and, as they spread around the playground, children themselves can’t resist his stories filled with humour and heart. The Telegraph called Billionaire Boy: 'The funniest book my eight-year-old has ever read in his life, ever, apparently' (November 2010).