Alan Gibbons is a full-time writer and a visiting speaker and lecturer at schools, colleges and literary events nationwide, including the major book festivals: Edinburgh, Northern Children's Book Festival, Swansea, Cheltenham, Sheffield and Salford.

Alan is a key supporter of a high-profile, nationwide campaign to champion libraries and librarianship and to reevaluate government commitment to educational spending. He lives in Liverpool with his wife and four children. Alan is an honorary CILIP member.

Ben Hubbard began his writing career at a what's-on newspaper in the 1990s, interviewing bands, actors and artists in his native Wellington, New Zealand.

He later joined the fast-paced world of daily newspaper journalism before packing up shop and moving to England. Here, Ben tied a number of new strings to his bow: magazine editor, book editor, and finally, author.

Today, Ben writes a mix of non-fiction for all ages - preschoolers through to adults. He has penned titles on an eclectic subject range: from space exploration, samurai warriors and medieval castles; to pop music, pets, tornadoes and rugby skills.

Dave Gibbons, a Will Eisner Hall of Fame nominee, is one of the most famous comic creators working today, with over 40 years experience, having worked for every major publisher in the US and UK. He is most famous for his collaborations with Alan Moore, including Watchmen, and was last year named Britain's first comics laureate.

Throughout this insightful course are real-life examples of Gibbons' art, revealing how he solved actual problems with practical solutions, and yielding unique behind-the-scenes insights into the creative process. All of the examples are scanned from original artwork, sketches, and preparatory designs, many of which have never been published before.

Learn the stages of layout and page planning via the initial designs of Give Me Liberty; discover Gibbons' handy tips for lettering using never-before-seen examples from The Originals; and find out the secrets of successful writing with sample scripts from The World's Finest and The Secret Service.