Philip Ridley was born in the East End of London and studied Fine Art at St Martin's School of Art. As a writer his credits include nine children's novels - including Krindlekrax (1991), winner of the Smarties Prize, Kasper in the Glitter (1994), nominated for the Whitbread Prize, and Scribbleboy (1997), shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal - and two pieces for younger children. His stage plays are The Pitchfork Disney (1991), The Fastest Clock in the Universe (1992), which won the Meyer-Whitworth Prize, a Time Out Award, and both the Critics' Circle and the Evening Standard Theatre Awards for Most Promising Playwright, Ghost from a Perfect Place (1994), Vincent River (2000), Krindlekrax (premi red by the Birmingham Rep in June 2002) and three plays for young people: Fairytaleheart (Hampstead Theatre, 1998), Sparkleshark (Royal National Theatre, 1999) and Brokenville (2001), which receiv
