Ready to Apply? 
Mal Peet is born October 5, 1947 and died March 2, 2015. He was an English author and illustrator best known for youth literature. He has received several awards, including the Brandford Boase Awards, the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Prize, and the British Children's Literature Awards for the "best" books of the year.
Three of his novels are about football and the fictional South American sports journalist Paul Faustino. Murdstone's Trilogy (2014) was his first work aimed at adult readers.
Quotes by Mal Peet:
I can ask for a £25,000 advance, but then you spend a year writing the book, and £25,000 is a loan against sales, and you can easily spend five years earning out. So that’s £25,000 for six years.