Liz Pichon

Liz Pichon (born 16 August 1963) is a British author and illustrator of children's books who is best known for her Tom Gates series of "satirical realist comedy fiction", which has sold 16.5 million copies and has been translated into 44 languages across 47 international markets.

Early life Liz Pichon was born on 16 August 1963 in London, England. She is the daughter of Francis and Joan Pichon. Pichon grew up in Hampstead. She attended Brookfield Primary School in Highgate and then St Augustine's in Kilburn. She received a BA in graphic design at the Camberwell School of Art. Her first job was as an art director for the music label Jive Records, a position she held between 1987 and 1990.

Books Her Tom Gates series was first published in 2011. There are currently 23 books in the Tom Gates series, as well as a special £1 book produced for World Book Day in 2013, a Tom Gates Annual, a Tom Gates Activity Book and a Tom Gates Music Book.

Shoe Wars, Pichon's new middle-grade title, was published in October 2020 during lockdown and has sold 95,000 copies.

Meet The Mubbles is a graphic novel series, published by Macmillan Children's books in 2025.

Events In 2016, Pichon created the "Kids' Tapestry", a children's version of the Bayeux Tapestry, featuring historical events to the mark the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

In 2017, Pichon, Horsenden Primary School and her publisher, Scholastic Children's Books, broke the Guinness World Record for the largest disco dance.

Personal life Pichon is dyslexic. In 1990, she married Mark Flannery and they have three children: one son and two daughters.