Horrible Histories: Barmy British Empire Award-winning team by Terry Deary (author) and Martin Brown (illustrator)

Born in Sunderland in 1946, Terry Deary lives in County Durham with his family. Terry’s early life was spent in his father’s butcher’s shop and his career in the arts began in 1972 at Theatre Powys in Mid Wales. He has worked as an actor, theatre-director, drama teacher and television presenter. Terry still acts with roles in British films and has appeared in the Horrible Histories TV, stage-shows and feature film. As an actor, Terry began writing scripts. One of his most successful was The Custard Kid which became his first novel in 1977. Terry has enjoyed over 40 years as an author, including over 80 titles in Horrible Histories the world’s bestselling children’s history series. He is also an author of fiction and non-fiction for adults. Terry is an ambassador for his home city of Sunderland and was made a Doctor of Education at Sunderland University.

Martin Brown was born in Melbourne, Australia, and has lived in England for over 30 years. He lives in Dorset with family. Arriving in London in 1983, Martin got a job as a bicycle courier – without any knowledge of the capital’s geography. It was short-lived. This was followed by a role in Harrod’s toy department: achievements included caricaturing customers and successfully wrapping a full-sized rocking horse. While working at London Graphic Centre, Martin decided to pursue his dream to become a cartoonist. Having access to the contact details of every publisher helped. One of the first publishers he contacted was Scholastic who commissioned him for the Coping with… books before uniting him with Terry Deary to create the world’s bestselling children’s history series, Horrible Histories. Martin’s recent books beyond Horrible Histories include his Lesser Spotted Animal series and Nell and the Cave Bear (both also written and illustrated by him). A proponent of ‘drawing is for everyone’, Martin inspires children (and their families) across Britain at festival appearances and shows.