David Almond was born on May 15th in Newcastle, England. He grew up in a large, story-telling family, visiting the library often to read his favorite books. He dreamed that his own name would be on the spine of those books one day. Before his notable success, Mr. Almond worked as a hotel porter, a postman, a teacher, and a magazine editor.

In 1998, David Almond’s first children’s novel, Skellig, captured the attention of readers in Britain and the US. The book won the UK’s Whitbread Children’s Book of the Year Award and the Carnegie Medal. In the US, the book received a Michael Printz Honor for young adult fiction. Since that time he has published many other books, including Heaven Eyes, Kit’s Wilderness, the 2001 Michael Printz Award winner, and The Fire-Eaters. Skellig has been made into a successful stage play, directed by Trevor Nunn. David Almond still lives in Newcastle with his wife and daughter.