Simon Packham has written several highly acclaimed books for young people, including Silenced, which was shortlisted for multiple awards, comin 2 gt u, a novel about cyberbullying and World War Two which is read widely in German schools, and Firewallers, chosen as one of The Independent's children's books of the year. He is also the composer and lyricist of eleven musicals for primary schools. He lives in West Sussex with his wife Deborah and an ageing cat called Pax. His latest middle-grade novel, Worrybot was published by UCLan Publishing in 2023.