Sally Nicholls

Sally Nicholls is an award-winning British author of children's and young adult fiction whose work is celebrated for its emotional depth, historical authenticity, and ability to tackle difficult subjects with sensitivity and intelligence. Her novel The Silent Stars Go By is set during the First World War and the devastating influenza pandemic that followed, telling a story of love, loss, and resilience that resonates powerfully with contemporary readers. Nicholls made an extraordinary debut with Ways to Live Forever, written when she was just twenty-three, which won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize and was published in more than thirty countries. The novel, about a boy with leukaemia who writes a book about his life, established Nicholls as an author of remarkable emotional intelligence and literary skill. Her subsequent novels, including Season of Secrets, All Fall Down, and Things a Bright Girl Can Do, have confirmed her as one of the most versatile and talented writers working in British children's literature, equally at home with historical fiction, contemporary realism, and stories that blend genres in unexpected ways. Nicholls's writing is characterised by thorough historical research, vivid character creation, and a refusal to patronise her young readers. The Silent Stars Go By is available as an audiobook, offering listeners a beautifully crafted historical story that brings the past vividly to life.