Kevin Crossley-Holland is an eminent poet, translator and prize-winning children's author. His translations of Old English poetry are brought together in The Anglo-Saxon World, and he has also translated The Exeter Book Riddles. Among his many publications are the Viking Sagas, eight volumes of poetry, various anthologies, including The Oxford Book of Travel Verse and Folk Tales of the British Isles, an illustrated book for children entitled Norse Myths: Tales of Odin, Thor and Loki, as well as two operas, a play and a memoir.

He was previously Gregory Fellow in Poetry at the University of Leeds, editorial director of Victor Gollancz, Lecturer in Anglo-Saxon Literature and Culture for the Tufts University London program, Fulbright Visiting Scholar at St Olaf College and Endowed Chair in the Humanities and Fine Arts at the University of St Thomas.

He is President of the School Library Association from 2012-2017, a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, an Honorary Fellow of St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and has received Honorary Doctorates from both Anglia Ruskin and Worcester Universities. He lives in Norfolk.

Jane Ray's exquisite artwork has gained acclaim both in the UK and internationally, and she regularly shows her work at galleries and exhibitions.

Jane won the Smarties Prize with The Story of Creation; The Story of Christmas was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Award; and A Balloon for Grandad was shortlisted for the Mother Goose Award.

Jane's books for Orchard include the contemporary fairy tale The Apple-Pip Princess, the heartwarming The Dolls' House Fairy and the fabulously festive The Twelve Days of Christmas. She is also the illustrator of Heartsong, written by Kevin Crossley-Holland. Jane lives in London.