Dame Jacqueline Wilson (née Aitken; born 17 December 1945) is an English novelist known for her popular children's literature.

[4] Wilson was given the nickname Jacky Daydream at school, which she later used as the title of her autobiography, which tells of her life as a primary school-aged child.

[3] After leaving school at age 16, she began training as a secretary but then applied to work with the Dundee-based publishing company DC Thomson on a new girls' magazine, Jackie.

[12] She teaches modules in both the Children's Literature and Creative Writing master's degree (MA) programmes offered by the university.

[18] In 2002, she replaced Catherine Cookson as the most borrowed author in Britain's libraries,[19] a position she retained until being overtaken by James Patterson in 2008.

Two of her books were "Highly Commended" runners-up for the annual Carnegie Medal: The Story of Tracy Beaker (1991) and Double Act (1995).

[22][a] In June 2002, Wilson was appointed an OBE for services to literacy in schools[23] and from 2005 to 2007 she served as the fourth Children's Laureate.

[24] In October 2005, she received an honorary degree from the University of Winchester in recognition of her achievements in and on behalf of children's literature.

[30] A dramatisation of Wilson's Double Act, written and directed by Vicky Ireland, was first performed at The Polka Theatre in Wimbledon, London from 30 January to 12 April 2003, and toured throughout the UK.

"I'm very touched to be thought of as a gay icon, it's an absolute delight," she said after publishing her first adult novel Think Again, which is the sequel to the Girls series and follows the life of Ellie Allard and her best friends Nadine and Magda, as they turn 40 years of age.