Anne Cassidy was born in London in 1952. She taught in London schools for 19 years before she became a full-time writer. She writes especially for teenagers, and her favourite genres are crime stories and thrillers. She has won many prizes for her work. Here are some of her characters: Jennifer Jones, aged 10, murders her friend. She is sent to a children's prison for 6 years, but what happens when she comes out again? Read 'Looking for JJ' (2004) to find out. A child is found abandoned by his mother - he is only one day old. The police want to find his mother.

Françoise Sagan (21 June 1935 - 24 September 2004) - real name Françoise Quoirez - was a French playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. Hailed as "a charming little monster" by François Mauriac on the front page of Le Figaro, Sagan was known for works with strong romantic themes involving wealthy and disillusioned bourgeois characters. Her best-known novel was her first - Bonjour Tristesse (1954) - which was written when she was a teenager

ALAN SILLITOE (1928 - ) was born in Nottingham, England in 1928. He worked in factories from the age of 14, and then for two years as an air force radio operator in Malaya. After that, he lived for some time in Mallorca (Majorca) and started to write. After ten years' work his first book 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' was published in 1958.