This week, Philip Reeve won the 2008 CILIP Carnegie Medal, the children's book award, for Here Lies Arthur . Born and raised in Brighton, Reeve, 42, worked in a bookshop and dabbled in amateur theatre before making his living as a cartoonist and illustrator from 1994. His lively artwork adorns three series of books for school-age children: Murderous Maths , Horrible Histories and Dead Famous . His first novel, Mortal Engines , was published in 2001, and was followed by six others. He also wrote the Buster Bayliss series of children's books. Reeve lives in Dartmoor with his wife and son.

Who are your literary heroes?