Ted Hughes was born in Yorkshire. His first book The Hawk in the Rain was published in 1957 by Faber and Faber and was followed by many volumes of poetry and prose for adults and children. He received the Whitbread Book of the Year for two consecutive years for his last published collections of poetry, Tales from the Ovid and Birthday Letters. He was Poet Laureate from 1984, and in 1998 he was appointed to the Order of Merit.
Raymond Briggs has produced some of the most cherished and admired picture books of our time - including Father Christmas,Fungus the Bogeyman, The Snowman, When the Wind Blows. He has won numerous awards including the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration and the Children's Book of the Year Award.
