Melvin Burgess was born in Twickenham and after daydreaming his way through school, ended up at the local newspaper on a training course to be a journalist. Even though the job wasn't for him, it awoke a love of writing and cemented in Melvin's mind that that was the career he wanted. He has since written over 20 titles for children and young adults, never shying away from gritty topics, and has been awarded numerous prizes for his work. In 1996 his controversial Junk won the Carnegie Medal. || Cathy has been doodling since she could hold a crayon. She went to art college and then travelled the world working in theatre, fashion and design before settling on a career in children’s books. Cathy also writes animation film scripts, graphic novels and illustrates other people’s books, in between blogging, teaching design and touring around the country. She lives in Surrey.