Annie Murray, an only child, was born in Wallingford in Berkshire, above an antique shop (many objects Annie saw there have since found their way into her books). Annie writes, “I wrote my first ‘book’ when I was seven, on the office typewriter downstairs”.
Author Interviews
Author interviews from World of Books.com
Mark Billingham: “I don’t really attempt to convey any message…The story has to come first”
Born and raised in Birmingham, Mark Billingham did not choose just one career path, he’s currently on several! Originally working for some years as an actor, Mark then became known as a TV writer and stand-up comedian in 1987. Since then he has been a guest on over 30 TV and radio shows, and played at every comedy club in the UK, still often performing at the Comedy Store in London.
Danny Wallace: “I’m a writer, definitely. The writing seems to have been the one constant in my life. That, and the curries”
Daniel Frederick Wallace (film-maker, comedian, writer, actor and presenter) was born 16th November 1976 in Dundee, Scotland, but moved to Loughborough, and in later years, Berlin and Bath with his parents. At the young age of 16, Danny began to work for Sega Power magazine as well as preparing for his GCSEs. What followed was years of writing for other games magazines, and then, when he was 18, for the comedy magazine Comedy Review.
“Technology breaks down. There’s nothing like opening the pages of a book and the story being revealed”: Michelle Magorian
Michelle Magorian was born 6th November 1947 in Southsea, Portsmouth. Always aspiring to be an actress, Michelle studied for three years at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama. Following this, she then spent a year at Marcel Marceau’s L’école Internationale de Mime in Paris. Her career as an actress saw her working in repertory theatre companies across the UK performing in plays from Goethe and Shakespeare to Noel Coward and Ayckbourn and in musicals from Cole Porter to Julian Slade.
Michael Morpurgo: “Animals, like children, aren’t in a position of power as we are as adults, and it is our duty to care for them”
Michael Morpurgo (OBE 2006, MBE, Children’s Laureate 2003-2005), was born 5th October 1943 in Hertfordshire. By the age of two Michael had been evacuated to Cumberland, only later moving back to London, and then to Essex. His book, The Butterfly Lion, suggests his unhappy experiences at one of the boarding schools he attended in these earlier years. At one stage Michael trained for the British Army at Sandhurst.
David James Pelzer was born 29th December 1960 in California. The second of five boys, Dave is the son of San Francisco fireman, Stephen Joseph Pelzer and Catherine Roerva Christen Pelzer. His origins and traumatic childhood can be followed through his first memoir A Child Called “It” (1995), which tells the story of his abusive childhood at the hands of his mother and brothers.