Maribel Lechuga is a freelance illustrator based in Madrid. She has worked for clients all over the world, such as Anaya, Edelvives, Palabra, Heinemann, Usborne, Charlesbridge or Harper Collins.

Her versatility and sensitivity make her illustrations stand out, bringing poetry to her artwork, full of beautiful textures and bright colours.

She loves nature, animal watching, hiking and a good conversation.

Web: www.maribellechuga.com
Instagram site: @maribellechugaillustration

Emma Young is an author and an award-winning science, health and medical journalist. She has a degree in psychology and 20 years’ experience working on titles including the Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald and New Scientist, for which she worked as a senior online reporter in London and Australasian Editor in Sydney. Now employed by the British Psychological Society as a Staff Writer, she also freelances articles and writes books.

Pui Lee is a freelance illustrator and graphic designer based in London who is inspired by the everyday, ephemera, nature, natural history and travel. With a playful and graphic approach, she draws upon simple forms, shapes and colour and enjoys illustrating everyday objects, experimenting with textures and patterns to tell a story.

Moira Butterfield lived and travelled in lots of different locations as a child, and still thinks our world is an endlessly exciting place to explore. She went on to study literature and become an author of children’s non-fiction and fiction. She believes there are no limits to the imagination or to the wonder of our planet and so she has written about many different subjects, from ancient treasures to future worlds via pirates, kings, jungles and sea monsters. Moira lives in Bath, Somerset, with her family. She loves to cycle, sew and sing.

Chanté Timothy is an illustrator who loves experimenting with movement, vibrant colour, character design and storytelling. Drawing for as long as she can remember, she’s always been the kid who asked for paper and pen to entertain herself instead of playing with toys. Chanté is a Pathways into Children’s Publishing 2019 – 2021 Alumni. She is the illustrator of a number of non-fiction books and has previously published picture books with Tola Okogwu for Simon & Schuster Children’s Books. Chanté featured in Dapo Adeola’s Hey You! which won Children’s Illustrated Book of the Year at the 2021 British Book Awards.

Dr Sheila Kanani is a space cadet, with her head high up in the clouds even when her feet are firmly on planet Earth. Sheila became interested in space and astronomy at the age of 13, and her passion sky-rocketed from there. She has a PhD in planetary science and her favourite planet is Saturn. Her favourite ‘work’ interests are teaching GCSE Astronomy and giving public talks to audiences of all ages and sizes.

Outside of astronomy, Sheila loves to play hockey and the saxophone, enjoys listening to records and dancing like no one is watching with her husband and sons, and curling up on the sofa with an excellent book and her six-fingered cat. Sheila’s love of writing began when she was nine and she started a daily journal, which she has kept (mostly) up to date ever since!

Kristina Rahim is a writer who lives in London with her wife and two daughters. Before writing, Kristina worked in the property industry, building homes out of disused garages and scraps of land. She now spends her days building middle grade and YA novels. She was runner-up in the Golden Egg Award for fiction in 2022. Her debut middle grade novel, The Doughnut Club, was named as the winner of the PFD Queer Fiction Prize 2023. You can find her under @krahimwrites on Instagram, @krahim.bsky.social on Bluesky and @KWBwrites on X.

Gordy is a UK based illustrator, printmaker and picture book maker who grew up in a small town on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors. He later moved south to Bristol to study illustration at the University of the West of England. When he’s not painting and making books he enjoys being outside, be it riding his bike, having mini adventures in the countryside or just watching the birds in the garden. He also has an unhealthy addiction to collecting houseplants. More of Gordy’s work can be found at gordywright.com.

Nizrana Farook was born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the beautiful landscapes of her home country find their way into the stories she writes. She has a master’s degree in writing for young people, and lives with her family in Hertfordshire.

Kirsty was born in Essex and grew up in Hampshire. She has had a wide variety of jobs including bookselling, railway re-signalling, picking stones off conveyor belts, putting lids on perfume bottles and teaching Pilates. She now lives with her husband on top of a hill in Winchester.

Sahar Haghgoo was born and raised in Iran, though she now lives in London. She studied graphic design and illustration at the University of Tehran and loves drawing and nature.

Zelma was born and raised in Indonesia, and now lives in a small city on the east side of Java island. She studied for a bachelor’s degree in visual communication design and then worked in a small studio, before starting her illustration career. She loves to explore the colourful details of buildings, nature and family interactions in her work. Eid for Nylah is her picture book debut.