Giles Paley-Phillips was born in East Sussex in 1977 and grew up on the south coast. He neglected his education to pursue a career in music and spent a number of years performing extensively around the UK, including slots at the Glastonbury festival. He is the author of nine books, including The Fearsome Beastie (Maverick Arts Publishing), which has now sold over 70,000 copies and won The People’s Book Prize 2012 and The Heart Of Hawick Children’s Book Award 2013, and was Highly Commended in The Forward National Literature Award in the US. It was also Shortlisted for The Rotherham Children’s Awards 2012.
His book Little Bell and the Moon received much critical acclaim, appearing on BBC Radio 2’s Anneka Rice Show. It was shortlisted for the People’s Book Prize 2016 and longlisted for the North Somerset Children’s Book Award 2017.
Giles has made several TV appearances including Good Morning Britain and an author special of BBC2’s Eggheads, and is a judge on ITV’s Share a Story. He also writes a regular book column for Title magazine and is co-host of BLANK podcast which launched in 2018.
Giles still lives in Seaford, East Sussex with his wife, Michelle, and their two sons, Elijah and Sonny. He is a patron for Action Aid UK.
“I'm not sure I do fully overcome the challenges, I think I try and find a way around them.”
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