Puffin Judges

Francesca Dow – Managing Director, Penguin Children's

Francesca Dow is Managing Director of the Penguin Children's Division, which comprises Puffin, Ladybird, Frederic Warne and the BBC publishing. She was Managing Director of Puffin prior to this. In her publishing career she has published books with award-winning illustrators such as Lauren Child, Jan Pienkowski, Raymond Briggs and Eric Carle, and designers such as Peter Blake and Orla Kiely.

Francesca Dow believes that excellent design and illustration are crucial in the creation of successful books. 'Puffin has a tradition, over its seventy-year-life, of promoting good design and supporting new designers. We created the Puffin Design Prize to continue this important strategy. We love working with new and different designers and know that this talent is vital for the long-term success of our business.'

Anna Billson – Art Director, Penguin Children's

Anna graduated in Graphic Design at Middlesex Polytechnic, where she spent most of her time printmaking and producing books. After working at ITN for a couple of years she moved into publishing, where she was able to turn her love of designing and creating books into her dream career. Anna joined Puffin in 2002 from Orchard Books, where, along with Francesca Dow, she helped create Lauren Child's original Clarice Bean and Charlie and Lola titles. Anna was made Art Director of Puffin in 2003 and leads a fabulous team who design for some of the biggest brands in children's publishing such as Wimpy Kid, Percy Jackson and the Puffin Classics, alongside a rich list of authors and illustrators including Eric Carle, Roald Dahl, Charlie Higson, Quentin Blake, Ed Vere and Cathy Cassidy.

In her current role as Art Director for Penguin Children's, Anna is responsible for the art direction and design of the Ladybird, Fredrick Warne and Media & Entertainment lists, as well as Puffin.

Guest Judges

David Almond

David Almond is the author of Skellig, Clay, The Savage and many other novels, stories and plays. His work is translated into over thirty languages and is widely adapted for stage and screen. He has won many major awards, including the Hans Christian Andersen Award 2010, the Carnegie Medal, two Whitbreads and the Michael L. Printz Award (USA). He was born in Newcastle, grew up on Tyneside and now lives with his family in Northumberland.

Raymond Briggs

Raymond Briggs is one of the foremost creators of illustrated books for adults and children, including the unforgettable The Snowman and Father Christmas.

Raymond left school aged fifteen to study painting at Wimbledon School of Art. After completing a typography course at the Central School of Art, and two years of national service, Raymond went on to the Slade School to study painting. His first work was in advertising, but before long he was winning acclaim as a children's book illustrator, as well as teaching illustration at Brighton College of Art.

Raymond was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal in 1966 for his fourth picture book, The Mother Goose Treasury, and again in 1973 for Father Christmas. Published in 1978, The Snowman is perhaps Raymond's best-loved creation. He says that the book was partly inspired by its predecessor, Fungus the Bogeyman: 'For two years I worked on Fungus, buried amongst muck, slime and words, so ... I wanted to do something which was clean, pleasant, fresh and wordless and quick.'