Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend

Francesca Simon

Francesca Simon was born in St Louis, Missouri, grew up in California, and went on to study Old and Middle English at Oxford and Medieval Studies at Yale. Following this, Francesca decided to work as a freelance journalist, writing for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Telegraph, and Vogue (US). When her son Joshua was born in 1989, she started writing children’s books full time.

One of the UK’s best-selling children’s writers, Francesca has published over 50 books, including the immensely popular Horrid Henry series, which has now sold over 16 million copies. She lives in London with her husband, son, and Tibetan Spaniel, Shanti. 

Tony Ross

Tony Ross was born in London in 1938. He went to art school in Liverpool and has since worked as a typographer for design and advertising agencies. His cartoons have appeared in Punch, Town, Time and Tide and the News of the World. His first book Hugo and the Wicked Winter was published in 1972. Tony has since written over 100 books and illustrated over 2000! Two of his creations, Towser and The Little Princess have been turned into TV series. Tony lives in Wales.