David Almond is the author of Skellig, Bone Music, Island, The Savage, The Tightrope Walkers, A Song for Ella Grey, The Dam, The Colour of the Sun, and many other novels, stories, picture books, opera librettos, songs and plays. His work is translated into over 40 languages and is widely adapted for stage and screen. His innovative, boundary-breaking work is loved by readers of all ages, and receives widespread critical acclaim. His major awards include The Carnegie Medal, two Whitbreads, The Michael L Printz Award, Le Prix Sorcieres, The Nonino International Prize, The James Kruss Award and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. In 2010 he received the Hans Christian Andersen Award, the world's most prestigious prize for children's authors. He is Emeritus Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University. He lives on the North East coast. In 2021 he received an OBE for services to literature.