The plaudits continue to flood in for Kingston-born best-selling children's author Jacqueline Wilson, who has just been made Children's Laureate.

The author will hold the post for two years and received a £10,000 bursary from the chairman of the Arts Council at an award ceremony in London on Thursday last week.

The appointment of a Children's Laureate, a post previously held by Quentin Blake and Michael Morpurgo, is designed to highlight the importance of exceptional authors in inspiring the readers of tomorrow.

Wilson has sold about 30million books worldwide and has been the most borrowed author in the nation's libraries for two years running. Two of her series, The Story of Tracy Beaker and The Illustrated Mum, have been converted into television programmes.

Children's director for award sponsors Ottakar's Bookstores, Wayne Winstone, said: "Jacqueline is a firm favourite with our staff and customers she was our best-selling children's author in 2004."

The award is another in a string of plaudits won by the author, whose gritty story lines such as tough issues like bereavement, bullying and divorce have turned some critics against her.

But she has won the Smarties Prize and the Children's Book Award, and The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Children's Book for the Year at the British Book Awards. She was short-listed for the Whitbread Children's Book of the Year in 1999.

The Illustrated Mum television series has won and Emmy and two Bafta's, while The Story of Tracy Beaker, now in its fourth series, is Children's BBC's top rating children's drama.

rclifford@london.newsquest.co.uk