Edward Hardy

In the 1990s, Edward Hardy was a lyricist and composer. He wrote the lyrics for the 1996 musical "Martin Guerre" which won the 1997 Olivier Award for Best Musical. Some 10 years later, he wrote his first picture book text, "Martha, No!" a rhyming tale about a mischievous little girl who gives her long-suffering nanny the run-around. "Martha, No!" illustrated by Deborah Allwright, was published by Egmont in 2010. It was short-listed for the Heart of Hawick Book Awards. Edward's second picture book, "Where is Fred?" illustrated by Ali Pye (Egmont, 2012), was long-listed for the 2013 Kate Greenaway Award.

Edward lives in central London with his wife and two children but no pets. He does, however, have very well-tended geraniums.