Melvin Burgess

Melvin Burgess is an award-winning young adult fiction author and writer of the Billy Elliot novelisation for Chicken House. He was born in 1954 in Twickenham, but grew up in Sussex and Berkshire. After a brief early stint as a journalist, Melvin turned his attention to writing fiction. Melvin’s novels have been published to wide critical acclaim. His debut novel, Cry of the Wolf, was nominated for the Carnegie Medal. In 1997 his hard-hitting iconic novel, Junk, won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award. Melvin’s advice for aspiring authors is just to 'keep at it! If you want to enough you'll get there - but be aware, it can take years.'