Blue Peter Book Award winner Simon Bartram shot out of his conference session in time for kick-off of Birmingham City v Sunderland. His first commissions were from Sunderland FC in his home city, where as a schoolboy in the 1970s he would wait at the players’ entrance to get his pencil portraits signed. This led to a pound;20-a-week job illustrating the match programmes. He has been loyal ever since, “though we’re doing terribly at the moment” (and they lost 1-0 on Saturday). He found his way to children’s books through magazines including Radio Times.

Man on the Moon: a day in the life of Bob (pictured) is about the Moon’s park-keeper, who commutes by space rocket to vacuum the crusty surface and entertain tour groups, convinced that no other life forms are there. It won both Blue Peter’s Best Book to Read Aloud award and the overall Blue Peter prize in 2004.