Andy Passchier is a non-binary illustrator from The Netherlands currently based in the USA. In their work, they try to focus on inclusivity and LGBTQIA+ advocacy. Outside of illustration, they enjoy Dungeons & Dragons, shows about aliens, cooking and anything spooky or Halloween-related.
Guilherme lives in Blumenau, in southern Brazil. In 2010, he won a national contest for new children’s book illustrators and has been working with editorial illustrations ever since. After illustrating many books for other authors, Guilherme started writing his own books in 2017. Guilherme’s work has been published worldwide and has received various accolades, including the Jabuti Award and the Golden Pinwheel Grand Award. Guilherme continues to seek ways to entertain and delight children through his art and stories.
Amélie Videlo was born in Paris during the Year of the Rat. While growing up, she lived between France and the Republic of Mauritius. She is a graduate of the Penninghen School Of Art Direction, and lives in the British countryside, close to the Welsh mountains, with her partner and her cat Chichi. Her preferred mediums are paints, crayons, inks, and digital applications.
Ruth Millington is an art historian and author, researching and writing about great artists, muses and masterpieces. For her first adult art book, Muse, Ruth worked like an art detective, uncovering the real-life people found in famous portraits. She has appeared on TV and radio, telling stories about Surrealism, Frida Kahlo and other artists from around the world. She was brought up on the sunny island of Bermuda but now lives in the rainier city of Birmingham in England. When she is not working, Ruth loves to read, sing along to music and decorate her home with lots and lots of art. She also likes to drink tea and paint pictures, and sometimes dips brushes in her mug by accident!
Ellen Surrey is an illustrator out of sunny Los Angeles, California. Blending her love of mid-century design and vintage children’s books, Ellen enjoys finding beauty in the past and colourfully sharing it with a contemporary audience. She’s illustrated many books about inspirational people, including Dolly Parton! Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Los Angeles Times. When she isn’t working, Ellen enjoys watching old movies and visiting her favourite thrift stores.
Jack Jackman is a father of three who works as a teacher in Scotland. Before settling in Scotland, he spent his time wandering the world, including a time in Argentina where he, for years, was the most southerly English teacher in the world. Jack used to be a tour guide in a prison, a pianist in a punk rock band, a tester of computer games and even a waiter in Antarctica (penguins do not tip well). It was when he worked in Antarctica he had the opportunity to visit the Halley Research Station (as one of very few members of the public to ever do so). Jack also writes plays which have been performed in Buenos Aires, London and Edinburgh.
Piu DasGupta was born in Calcutta, India and grew up in India and the UK. She studied English at Oxford University and subsequently worked in several serious professions and places before following a long-nurtured dream to be a writer in a garret in Paris. She now lives in Paris although not (thankfully) in a garret, with her family, two cats, and numerous pigeons who flap to the kitchen windowsill for regular snacks. When she finally grows up, she hopes to fulfil her ultimate fantasy and run away to join the circus.
Nikita Gill is an Irish-Indian poet with a world-wide fan-base, who has the attention of over 650,000 Instagram followers for poetry collections and plays that offer a largely female readership the chance to recognise the value of their own experiences. She has given a TEDx Talk and spoken at every major literary festival in the U.K.. She has been shortlisted for the Goodreads Choice Award in poetry three times, nominated for the YOTO Carnegie Medal and has recently made her first foray into music having written for Anoushka Shankar’s Sister Susannah and In Her Name. She has written for or been featured in The New York Times, The Times, The Financial Times, The Guardian, Stylist Magazine, The Bookseller, Cosmopolitan, The Times of India, Eastern Eye and many more. Gill has written seven collections of poetry, and a novel in verse which highlights Hindu mythology.
Chaaya Prabhat is an illustrator and lettering artist from Chennai, India, currently working out of Goa. She has worked on a number of picture books, including The Culture of Clothes (Templar Publishing), The Best Diwali Ever (Scholastic), Bracelets for Bina’s Brothers (Charlesbridge Publishing) and Hide-and-Seek History: The Egyptians (Little Tiger Publishing). She’s previously worked with several clients such as Penguin, Hachette, Facebook and Google on digital illustration projects. She has previously received awards for her portfolio and projects from Behance and Adobe.