The Sign of the Black Dagger

Joan Lingard was born in Edinburgh (in a taxi on the Royal Mile) but grew up in Belfast. Her extraordinary career spans over four decades. She has written for both adults and young people, and is perhaps best known for her Kevin and Sadie series set in Northern Ireland, the first of which was The Twelfth Day of July. Her writing has received many prizes both at home and abroad, and in 1999 she was awarded an MBE for Services to Children's Literature.