Anne Fine has been an acknowledged top author in the children's book world since her first book was published in the mid 1970s, and has now written more than forty books and won virtually every major award going, including the Carnegie Medal (more than once), the Whitbread Children's Award, the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the Smarties Prize and others. Anne was appointed the Children's Laureate from 2001-2003. She lives in the North-East.