Sally Nicholls was born in Stockton-on-Tees, just after midnight, in a thunderstorm. She spent most of her childhood trying to make real life as much like a book as possible.

Her first book, Ways to Live Forever, won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize in 2008 and in 2015 her book An Island of Our Own was shortlisted for the Costa children's prize. Sally lives in a little house in Oxford, writing stories and trying to believe her luck.

Rachael Dean is a UK based freelance illustrator, who lives on the coast near Liverpool. She studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Liverpool John Moore's University, and graduated in 2017 with a First Class Honours degree. Rachael works traditionally painting images which are vivid and bold. She has a penchant for pattern but her real passion lies in the outdoors and travelling.

She loves to gather inspiration from beautiful scenes of nature, which is often reflected in her work. Rachael's clients include Andersen Press, Chicken House, Nosy Crow, Egmont, Puffin and Penguin Random House US.