ellen renner

Ellen Renner grew up in the Ozark hills of southern Missouri. She studied both painting and creative writing at university before moving to England in her twenties.

She now lives in Devon with her husband and teenage son. Ellen's debut novel, Castle of Shadows is an adventure for readers aged nine-plus, set in an alternative Victorian world.

It won the 2007 Cornerstones WOW Factor Competition for unpublished writers and was published in January 2010 by Orchard Books. Castle of Shadows was longlisted for the Waterstone's Prize and the Dorset New Horizons Book Award and is currently shortlisted for the West Sussex Children's Book Prize. It made the Independent's list of Top 50 Books for Summer Reading. The sequel, City of Thieves will be published by Orchard in August 2010.

Website: www.ellenrenner.com