David Almond

David Almond (born 1951 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British novelist and playwright who has written mainly for children and young adults since the late 1990s. His books have won wide critical praise and reached readers far beyond Britain. He is one of a small group of children's writers to receive the Hans Christian Andersen Award, a biennial prize honouring the lasting contribution of a living author, and one of only three British writers to have won it.

Born in Newcastle, he grew up in nearby Felling in a large Catholic family. As a child he wrote stories and bound them into small books by hand. After studying at the University of East Anglia and Newcastle Polytechnic, he taught for five years, then moved to an artists' commune in Norfolk to focus on writing. Back in Newcastle he combined part-time teaching of pupils with special needs with editing the literary journal Panurge. His early publications were short stories, and the novel Skellig (1998) brought him wide recognition.

His fiction mixes everyday settings with fantastical elements and a philosophical interest in life and death, reality and fiction, education and the self. Written for children and adults alike, his stories often follow young people facing hardship. He is Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and his work has influenced a generation of writers for young readers.