Chris d'Lacey

He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win – but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.

In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.

His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. After recovering, it lived another 14 years freely coming and going from a nest box attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.

Chris D'Lacey (born 15 December 1954) is an English writer of children's fiction, he is best known for writing The Last Dragon Chronicles. He has also written many other books including A Dark Inheritance.