Rola Shaw is the pen name of a creative duo who met eight years ago working together in children's publishing. Their friendship grew through a fondness for the playful, imaginative and insightful world of children's books. Together they have more than 15 years' experience writing and editing children's books. They can often be found wandering around the parks or working hard at their studio in Berlin.

Lara Hawthorne is an illustrator based in Bristol, UK. After graduating from Falmouth University in 2013 where she studied illustration, she has had work shortlisted for the Lowry Children's Book Award and has written and illustrated Herberto, a picture book published in Portugal, Brazil, Slovenia, France and South Korea.

Her other books include The King of Christmas, Carol Ann Duffy's 2016 Christmas poem, published by Picador, and The Night Flower, published by Big Picture Press. As well as focusing on narrative work, Lara also sells a variety of prints, notebooks and cards. Through Betty & Dupree, her prints are distributed to shops throughout the UK and internationally.