Ted Hughes is widely considered one of the greatest poets of his generation and indeed one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. He was born in Yorkshire in 1930, and was Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998. In 1974 Hughes was awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. In 1977 he was awarded an OBE for services to Literature, and was awarded the Order of Merit in 1998. His most widely read classic children's story The Iron Man, has been adapted for both stage and screen, and is regarded as one of the greatest children's books of all time. Chris Mould is an award-winning illustrator who went to art school at 16. A sublime draftsman with a penchant for the gothic, he has illustrated the gamut from picture books and young fiction, to theatre posters and satirical cartoons for national newspapers. As well as writing his own fiction, he has teamed up with author Matt Haig for the bestselling A Boy Called Christmas, A Girl Called Christmas and Father Christmas and Me. He lives in Yorkshire with his wife, has two grown-up daughters, and when he's not drawing and writing, you'll find him- actually, he's never not drawing or writing.