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Katya Balen is an award-winning author of books for children. Her debut novel, The Space We're In, was highly commended for the Branford Boase Award, October, October won the Carnegie Medal and the UKLA Book Award, The Light in Everything was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and Foxlight won the 2024 Wainwright Prize for Children's Writing. She is also the author of the heart-warming Appletree Animal Agency series and the acclaimed picture book, Wild. When she's not writing books, Katya likes to scroll through dog-rescue websites, bake and attempt to keep her house plants alive. Whilst working initially as a primary teacher, then within community arts and theatre, Gill Smith pursued illustration and achieved an MA with distinction in Children's Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. She was shortlisted for the Batsford Illustration prize and a winner of the international competition, "Picture This". She illustrated Maria's Island, a retelling of Victoria Hislop's bestselling book, The Island, reimagined for children. She also illustrated Saving the Butterfly, which was shortlisted for the Klaus Flugge Prize, the heart-warming Appletree Animal Agency series and the acclaimed picture book, Wild. |
