Geraldine McCaughrean

To nominate A PACK OF LIES for your favourite Carnegie book of all time, visit: http://carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/carnegiegreenaway70/nomination70.asp

Born in 1951 in North London, Geraldine McCaughrean took an education degree but worked instead in magazine publishing for ten years before becoming a full-time writer. She now lives in Berkshire with her husband John and daughter Ailsa.

Geraldine McCaughrean has written over 120 books and been published in 27 languages. She writes for every age level, from first-readers and picture books to adult novels, and her awards include the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Prize (twice), the Guardian Fiction Award, Smarties Bronze (twice), UKRA and The Blue Peter Book of the Year as well as the 2001 Blue Peter category "The Best Book to Keep Forever".

In the 2002 Carnegie Awards she had two very different novels shortlisted - THE KITE RIDER and STOP THE TRAIN. She was shortlisted for the 2002 Smarties and two (different) categories of the Blue Peter Book Awards. Her books have also won awards in Germany and America.

In addition to eight children's and five adult novels, she has done many retellings of myths and legends from around the world; also adaptations of inaccessible classics such as MOBY DICK, EL CID, THE CANTERBURY TALES, GILGAMESH, THE ODYSSEY and PILGRIM'S PROGRESS.

She has written 50 short plays for schools, and a radio play.

In August 2004, the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital launched the search for a sequel to JM Barrie's timeless masterpiece, "Peter Pan". The Special Trustees own the copyright and other intellectual property rights to "Peter Pan", and to mark the work's centenary, they authorized the creation of a new work that would share the same enchanting characters as the original, and bring as much pleasure to children and adults universally as "Peter Pan" has done.

Fighting off fierce competition from over 100 other writers, Geraldine McCaughrean was commissioned to write the official sequel. In her entry, the judges found something that captured the elusive spirit of the original whilst offering a fresh and astounding creative response. PETER PAN IN SCARLET was published on 5th October 2006.

To liven up her creative writing lessons, Mrs P has got Class Five to write a story on a roll of wallpaper. Each child must add a sentence to make it the longest story ever.

Soon we are swept along in the tale of King Fred, who narrowly escapes death at the hands of pirates and attempts to save mermaids from the monstrous Wugblammer. (But he fails - it ate them all.) While Ecky Thump indulges his imagination, Noah Mount, who hates English, keeps trying to kill everyone off. Little does he or anyone else realize that in a parallel fantasy world all their characters come to life, in the whirlwind of action that is the story.

It's when the children make spelling mistakes or forget what's happened that things get interesting. The 'holey' archbishop finds himself in tatters, fluttering along like a ghost, while an army of 'nights' has plunged the kingdom into complete darkness. The story twists and turns with ever more hilarious consequences.