Louise lives and works in the UK. When she isn’t writing, she works as a freelance acting, life skills and performing arts tutor, teaching students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

Tom Froese is an award winning illustrator and teacher. He is passionate about making work that makes people happy. In his work, you will experience a flurry of joyful colours, spontaneous textures and quirky shapes.

As a commercial artist, Tom has worked for brands and businesses all over the world, including Yahoo!, Airbnb, and GQ France. The Castle the King Built is Tom’s second published picture book, the first being Whose Boat? by Toni Buzzeo (Abrams Appleseed, 2018).

Originally from the Toronto area, Tom graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design with a B.Des (honours) in 2009. He then moved to Vancouver, BC, where he began his creative career and eventually became a family man.

Tom now works from his home studio in the small village of Yarrow, about an hour’s drive east of Vancouver. He lives with his wife Amanda and daughters Nina and Marie – and a funny cat named Blueberry.

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.

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.

Andrew Donkin has sold over 10 million children’s books and graphic novels, worldwide. His graphic novel, Illegal (co-written with Eoin Colfer), was an international bestseller and has won or been nominated for over 40 book awards. Andrew has written for many global franchises, including Batman, Superman, Doctor Who, and Artemis Fowl. His non-fiction work includes biographies of Roald Dahl, William Shakespeare and Albert Einstein. He loves books, comics, and tea. Andrew lives near the river Thames in London with his family.

Libby VanderPloeg is an artist and illustrator living in west Michigan. She always loved drawing and, growing up, was surrounded by books and stories, as her mother was a storyteller and children’s librarian. On family road trips, she’d study the big atlases as they trekked from state to state, fascinated by all of the layers of information and iconography. After studying fine art in Chicago and working as a graphic designer, art director, and even a cheese monger in Brooklyn, she decided to focus on her lifelong love of drawing and illustration. Her obsession with maps resurfaced, now through her illustration work, drawing dozens of colorful cities across the globe.

Ruth Doyle’s obsession with animals started at an early age. She now lives on Mini Motley Sanctuary with a flock of sheep, eight chickens, three dogs, two rescued miniature horses, six guinea pigs, two rabbits and two grown-up children. Ruth’s debut picture book, Songs for Our Sons published in 2020 with its companion, Dreams for Our Daughters following in 2021.

Alexandra Finkeldey is a freelance artist based in Ottawa, Canada. She uses both traditional and digital mediums to capture her favourite subjects, which include animals, people, plants, and food. Alexandra’s recent picture books include When the Storks Came Home (2022) and Talala: The Curious Leopard Cub (2021).

Nishani Reed is a children’s writer, rhymist and book-auntie. She lives in south Manchester with her husband, two children and an inconveniently large dog. Her debut picture book, Nabil Steals a Penguin, was longlisted for the 2024 Diverse Book Awards and the 2025 BookTrust Storytime Prize. Nishani also works in publishing as an IP lawyer and spends her time juggling work and family life in a way that rarely impresses anyone.

Junissa Bianda is an illustrator from Indonesia with a passion for art! Rarely do you see her without a coloured pencil and a sketchbook in her grasp. In the past, she proclaimed herself a professional scribbler, as she was known for scribbling on her friends’ school notebooks. Junissa has a graduate degree in Children’s Book Illustration from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, USA. She now lives in Indonesia with her mom, five siblings and two cats.

Jade was born in North Carolina and grew up in a tiny Michigan town. After an impassioned childhood spent drawing dragons and cat ladies, she traveled to SCAD Savannah to get a BFA in Illustration. In 2018, Jade left her job of 7 years as a staff children’s apparel artist to freelance full time. She currently lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband, greyhound, and 4 cats (including two naked ones!) When she’s not drawing, Jade can usually be found curled up with her cats and a really good book.

Stephanie Taylor is a British-born author of Jamaican heritage. Married to Michael, she has two amazing grown-up children, Sîan and Miles. Stephanie has worked in primary education for over 20 years at the same school in South East London.

Reading and writing books for children is Stephanie’s passion – if she can use this to encourage children to read then she feels like she has achieved something wonderful.