Sonya Hartnett's work has won numerous Australian and international literary prizes and has been published around the world. Uniquely, she is acclaimed for her stories for adults, young adults and children.

Her accolades include the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Of A Boy), The Age Book of the Year (Of A Boy), the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize (Thursday's Child), the Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year for both Older and Younger Readers (Forest, The Silver Donkey, The Ghost's Child, The Midnight Zoo and The Children of the King), the Victorian Premier's Literary Award (Surrender), shortlistings for the Miles Franklin Award (for both Of a Boy and Butterfly) and the CILP Carnegie Medal (The Midnight Zoo). Hartnett is also the first Australian recipient of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (2008).

Golden Boys, Sonya’s third novel for adults, was shortlisted for the 2015 Miles Franklin Literary Award and she also published her third picture book, The Wild One in 2014.

Over 35 years, Ann James has collaborated with many authors, illustrating picture books that almost always feature animals! In fact, her own pets are characters in The Midnight Gang; Dog In, Cat Out; The Way I Love You and Chester and Gil.

Ann's playful approach to illustrating is evident in her choice of media and techniques. Some of her memorable picture-book characters are in Lucy Goosey; I'm a Dirty Dinosaur; I'm a Hungry Dinosaur; Bird and Bear and Bird and Bear and the Special Day.

She looks forward to readers getting to know Samantha and Sebastian in A Very Quacky Christmas! Ann lives in Melbourne, where she and her partner run Books Illustrated, a gallery specialising in promoting picture books and their creators.