Annual marketing and publicity campaign, celebrating Michael's legacy and recruiting new readers His books have sold over 35 million copies worldwide in almost 40 languages to date A former Children's Laureate current President of BookTrust, Michael was knighted in 2018 for services to literature and charity He has won many prestigious awards including the Smarties Prize, the Writers Guide Award, the Whitbread Award, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Eleanor Farjeon Lifetime Achievement Award His novels have been adapted in a number of plays and films including War Horse directed by Stephen Spielberg (2011), Private Peaceful, Waiting for Anya and Kensuke's Kingdom (2023) which has been nominated for 'Best Feature Film' at the 2024 British Animation Awards The National Theatre's adaption of War Horse has been seen by over 10 million people and is returning to theatres around the UK throughout 2025 Competition: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse;the hobbit;always remember;the secret garden;alice in wonderland;charlotte's web;murder most unladylike. charlie mackesy;robin stevens;tolkien;c. s. lewis;kiran millwood hargrave;katherine rundell.