Jacqueline Wilson always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first 'novel' when she was nine. She worked as a journalist on Jackie magazine before turning to writing novels full-time. One of Jacqueline's most successful and enduring creations has been Tracy Beaker, a young girl living in care, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award, the 1999 Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children's Book Award. Jacqueline has sold over 25 million books in the UK alone and was made a Dame in 2008.
