Louis Sachar lives in Austin, Texas, where he writes his novels and plays quite a lot of bridge.

His novel Holes has sold over 1.5 million copies in the Bloomsbury edition alone and Louis is the recipient of many of the world's best regarded book prizes, including the National Book Award and the Newbery Award.

Holes was the first Liverpool City Read title and won the Sheffield Book Award in the UK.

Born in Estonia, Aleksei loved to draw as a child and doodled all over his school books. Although he originally intended to become a teacher, his extensive travels brought him back to art.

Aleksei studied illustration in London at LCC and Camberwell, where he received his masters degree. Influences on his quirky, humorous illustrations include Tove Jansson and Russian animators. He lives in London with his wife and son.