Elys grew up in a part of Sussex that consists almost entirely of trees and cows and she was named after a department store in Wimbledon. She’s never let either of these things hold her back and Elys recently graduated with distinction from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. Elys has been awarded second place in the Macmillan Prize and was also shortlisted for the Waterstone’s ‘Picture This’ prize. Elys works predominately with ink, newfangled digital witchcraft and coloured pencils of which she is the proud owner of 178 but can never seem to find a sharpener. Based in Cambridge, when Elys is not drawing she grows cacti, collects pocket watches and spends altogether too much time in the company of other illustrators.

Joey was born in Taiwan and grew up in Southern California. As a teenager, he found drawings were a far more effective way for him to communicate than words. Later he decided to study illustration at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Now he draws concept art for animated movies and illustrates picture books in Los Angeles. You can see more of his work at http:///www.joeyart.com

Ellen Renner was born in the Ozarks mountains of Missouri. She decided to become a writer when her fourth grade teacher, Mrs Ormsby, read Charlotte’s Web to the class one spring afternoon. Reading about other people and places made her want to travel, and Ellen first came to England in her twenties. She originally trained as a painter and surrounds herself with sketches of her characters as she writes. She spins wool as well as stories, plays the violin, fences (badly!) and is a keen motorcyclist.
Her first book, Castle of Shadows, won the Cornerstones Wow Factor Competition and the North East Book Award. It and the sequel, City of Thieves, were chosen for the London Times’ Best Children’s Books of 2010. Ellen is the author of YA fantasy Tribute (2014) and Outcaste (2015), as well as the Flip Flop Club series of books for 8-12 year-olds (as Ellen Richardson).

Sarah Walsh grew up in upstate New York. When she was little she was obsessed with animals. So much so that she wanted to be one. Her mom knew this and sewed her an assortment of costumes she could wear all year round. She was also obsessed with drawing and from a very small age knew in her heart she would be an artist someday. If….she worked hard enough and practised. Currently Sarah is an internationally published illustrator with several adult colouring books, children’s board books, activity books, and greeting cards under her belt. She lives with her family in Kansas City. Her work and other notions can be found at Sarahwalshmakesthings.com.

Ben Lerwill has been working as a freelance travel writer for over 15 years. His work has appeared in more than 50 national and international publications, from The Sunday Times to National Geographic Traveller. Ben’s passions include the outdoors, music, wildlife, running and reading. He is thrilled that, through children’s books, he can share his enthusiasm about the wider world with young readers. He’s at his happiest when he’s on a long walk and his children haven’t yet pinched all the snacks.

Frances Stickley grew up in Nottingham and Norwich, where she spent much of her time making up poems and dressing up her dog. She is a trained children’s literacy specialist and a primary school teacher who is happiest when she is covered in paint or stuck in a book. In 2017, Frances was the winner of the Bloomsbury and National literacy trust short story prize 2017. She lives with her family and a big-eared dog called Babbage. When she is not writing, you’ll probably find her in a forest playing dragons with her daughters.

Anuska Allepuz grew up in Spain, where she studied Fine Arts at the University of Salamanca. She has enjoyed drawing and writing stories for as long as she can remember and her work is driven by a love of storytelling. In 2016, she graduated with distinction from the MA in Children’s Book Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art. She likes exploring texture and using mixed media, handmade stamps and stencilled shapes.

Anuska has worked as a full-time illustrator with publishers in Spain, Mexico and Brazil, and her illustrations have been selected for exhibition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, shortlisted for the AOI awards and Highly Commended in the Macmillan Prize. Some of her favourite things are drinking coffee with friends and playing chess.

Helen Peters grew up on an old-fashioned farm in Sussex, surrounded by family, animals and mud. She spent most of her childhood reading stories and putting on plays in a tumbledown shed that she and her friends turned into a theatre. After university, she became an English and Drama teacher. Helen lives in London with her family and a very assertive cat.

Briony May Smith grew up in Sandhurst in Berkshire, playing in the garden with her younger brother and sister. She studied Illustration at Falmouth University and was Highly Commended for the Macmillan Children’s book prize in 2013 and 2014. She now lives in Devon, where her work day mainly consists of drawing fairies, interrupted only when her dog, Finbar, demands his walk. Briony’s work is inspired by fairy tales and folklore and life in the country.

Jeanne Willis wrote her first book when she was five – a slim volume about cats written in pencil and stitched together with a painfully blunt needle so that it looked like a ‘real’ book. After that, there was no turning back. Having been fired from her Saturday job – selling cowboy boots on the Kings Road – for chewing gum, and after a brief career as a reptile vet’s assistant, she worked as a copywriter and had her first picture book published at the age of 21 (which she wrote whilst pretending to be busy creating adverts for cognac).

She has since written over 300 books and has won several awards, which are arranged in the attic where she works, along with her collection of caterpillars, pink-toed tarantula skins and live locusts. Jeanne has a keen interest in Natural History and has lost count of the number of species featured in her books, including everything from slugs to sloths. She is currently into corvids – especially Nosy Crows.

Sarah Gibb is a British illustrator who grew up in Bickley, just outside London. She gained a BA in Graphic Design from Central St. Martins and an MA in Illustration from the University of Brighton.

Working from her studio at home, Sarah has illustrated dozens of children’s books including Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast. Her distinctive, elegantly detailed and contemporary classic style has been on book covers, including the famous Emily Windsnap and Tiara Club series and Sue Townsend’s back catalogue, national magazines, cards, packaging and advertising. Over the years she has worked with numerous clients including Harrods, Vogue, Elle, Penguin, Simon & Schuster, Orion, Harper Collins, Orchard and Crabtree & Evelyn.

Sarah lives in London with her husband and two children. When she’s not illustrating, she loves going on adventures with her kids, travelling, and exploring castles, historic homes and buildings. She’s always on the lookout for beautiful design to influence her work or to fill her house.

Barry Hutchison is an award-winning children’s author and screenwriter, currently hiding up a mountain in the Highlands of Scotland. Since landing his first children’s book publishing deal in 2008, Barry has toured extensively around UK schools, sharing his love of reading and stories about weeing in the kitchen sink with pupils of all ages. He has a passion for encouraging reluctant boys to pick up a book, and in 2013 was appointed as Scotland’s third Patron of Reading, becoming the first man to hold the position.
A lifelong fan of funny books, Barry loves making readers laugh with his unique brand of comedy. He lives with his wife, Fiona, and his children, Kyle and Mia, none of whom appreciate his jokes in the slightest.