Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Race Against Time

Frank Cottrell-Boyce

Frank Cottrell-Boyce, father of seven, is an established British screenwriter whose credits include God on Trial, Welcome to Sarajevo, Hilary and Jackie and 24 Hour Party People. He lives in Merseyside with his family.

Frank's first book, Millions, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2004 and has been shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Award 2004. Millions has also been made into a movie directed by Danny Boyle. Frank's second novel, Framed, was published in September 2005 and shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Prize. It was made into a BBC feature-length film in 2009. Frank's third novel, Cosmic, was published in June 2008. It was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize 2008 and the inaugural Roald Dahl Funny Prize.

Frank was asked by the Fleming Estate to write the official sequel to Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again was shortlisted for the Roald Dahl Funny Prize in 2012.

Having worked with director Danny Boyle on Millions, Danny asked Frank to be part of the team creating the Opening Ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics. Frank worked on the project for two years as the official scriptwriter. The ceremony was met with worldwide acclaim and even included a section inspired by children's books.

Joe Berger

Joe Berger has been drawing for as long as he can remember. He grew up loving books and the thought of giving children the same excitement he felt from reading is a huge part of his inspiration.

The official illustrator of World Book Day 2010, Joe has had three picture books published: Hattie the Bad, Bridget Fidget and Bridget Fidget – Hold on Tight! (Puffin Books). He received a Book Trust Best New Illustrators Award in 2011.

Joe’s illustrations are hand drawn with pencil, pen or wax crayon and then scanned into the computer where he adds colour. Before using the computer he found colouring difficult. He explains that using the computer you can make mistakes and correct them and once you’ve got used to this freedom you can’t go back.