Chris Riddell

Chris is an illustrator, author and political cartoonist for the Observer. He has enjoyed great acclaim for his books for children which have won a number of major prizes, including the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal an unprecedented three times and the Costa Book Award in 2013 for his book, Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse. Between 2015-2017, Chris served as the UK Children’s Laureate and in 2019 he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his services to children’s literature.

Chris's previous work includes the award-winning Goth Girl and Ottoline series, The Cloud Horse Chronicles: Guardians of Magic, Once Upon A Wild Wood, The Emperor of Absurdia, and last year he illustrated the new edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (Macmillan Children's Books). Alongside his middle-grade fiction and picture books, Chris also enjoys poetry and has edited and illustrated a series of best-selling poetry anthologies including Poems to Live Your Life By, Poems to Fall in Love With and Poems to Save the World With (Macmillan Children's Books). Chris has also collaborated with many highly acclaimed authors and illustrated many of their books including Neil Gaiman (The Graveyard Book, Pirate Stew), Frances Hardinge (The Lie Tree), Paul Stewart (The Edge Chronicles), Francesca Gibbons (A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth), Michael Rosen (Honey for You, Honey for Me) and JK Rowling (Beedles and the Bard). This year, Chris has illustrated a gorgeous new edition of Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll in celebration of the 150th anniversary of its publication and the 42nd special anniversary edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Chris lives in Brighton with his family.