Laura Gallego holds a position of honour among child and young adult literature authors in Spain. She has a PhD in Hispanic Philology from the Universidad de Valencia, but began to write at the early age of eleven. Finis Mundi, her first published novel, was awarded the El Barco de Vapor prize, an award that she won again three years later for La leyenda del Rey Errante (The Legend of the Errant King). In addition to children's stories, Laura Gallegos has so far authored thirty novels, among the most notable of which are Donde los árboles cantan (Where the Trees Sing), winner of the Premio Nacional de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil and her acclaimed trilogy Memorias de Idhún (Idhún's Memories). In 2011 she received the Premio Cervantes Chico for her life's work. Laura Gallego's novels have sold three million copies in Spain alone and have been translated into seventeen languages.