William James Carter Mayne (16 March 1928 - 24 March 2010) was an English writer of children's fiction. He was born in Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

, the son of a doctor and was educated at the choir school attached to Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....

 and his memories of that time contributed to his early books. During the Second World War the school was evacuated to Cornwall. He lived for most of his life in North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire

North Yorkshire is a non-metropolitan or shire county located in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England, and a ceremonial county primarily in that region but partly in North East England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972 it covers an area of , making it the largest...

.

He was described as one of the outstanding children's authors of the 20th century by the Oxford Companion to Children's Literature, and won the Carnegie Medal

Carnegie Medal

The Carnegie Medal is a literary award established in 1936 in honour of Scottish philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and given annually to an outstanding book for children and young adults. It is awarded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals...

 in 1957 for A Grass Rope

A Grass Rope

A Grass Rope is a children's novel by William Mayne, set in the Yorkshire Dales. It was first published in 1957 and was awarded the Carnegie Medal for that year...

and the Guardian

Guardian Award

The Guardian Children's Fiction Prize or Guardian Award is a prominent award for works of children's literature by British or Commonwealth authors, published in the United Kingdom during the preceding year. The award has been given annually since 1967, and is decided by a panel of authors and the...

Award in 1993 for Low Tide.