W. J. Corbett

William Jesse Corbett (1938–2003) was an English children's author born and raised in Birmingham, West Midlands. He worked in the British Merchant Navy from age 16 and later in physical training for the British Army before turning to writing. His debut novel, The Song of Pentecost (1982), an international bestseller about mice seeking a new home, won the Whitbread Children's Book Award; he wrote sequels and series like the Ark of the People featuring the Willow People.