Children's writer Jacqueline Wilson has been named the most borrowed author in the UK library lending chart.

Born in Bath, Somerset on December 17th, Jacqueline Wilson knew she wanted to write from a very young age but didn't complete her first book until she was nine! She trained to be a secretary but soon applied for a job as a journalist with DC Thompson, the comic book publisher. Her first journalist job was on the teen magazine Jackie. Now, she has more than 70 books to her credit.

Her children's novels include The Story of Tracy Beaker, The Suitcase Kid, Double Act, Bad Girls, Vicky Angel, The Illustrated Mum, and The Dare Game.

She has won many awards including the Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People's Choice Award and The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the 1999 Children's Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. The Story of Tracy Beaker has been made into a successful BBC children's series and Channel 4's dramatisation of Double Act scooped the prestigious Royal Television Society Best Children's Fiction Award. Four of her books appeared in the top 100 of the BBC poll. In June 2002 Wilson was given an Order of the British Empire for services to literacy in schools.

Her home in Kingston upon Thames is better-stocked than some libraries. She has a collection of more than 15,000 books.