Rebecca Sparrow was born in 1972 and lives in Brisbane. She holds a Bachelor of Business (Communication) from the Queensland University of Technology. Over the past twenty years Rebecca has earned a living selling touch lamps, working as a nanny, a travel writer, a television publicist, a marketing executive, a magazine editor, a newspaper columnist and a secret shopper (once).

Rebecca's first novel, The Girl Most Likely, was published in March 2003. It spent 16 consecutive weeks in the Queensland Top Ten and was a joint winner for the citywide One Book One Brisbane reading campaign. Rebecca's second novel, The Year Nick McGowan Came To Stay was published in May 2006 and a year later premiered as a stage play at La Boite Theatre in Brisbane.

In her spare time Rebecca works voluntarily with War Child Australia, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to providing immediate, effective and sustainable aid to children affected by war.

Nick Earls is the author of more than twenty books, including five for children and five novels with teenage central characters. 48 Shades of Brown was a CBCA Book of the Year, and his other four young adult novels were Notable Books.

After January was also shortlisted for the National Children's Literature Award, won a 3M Talking Book of the Year Award and was shortlisted in the Fairlight Talking Book Awards.

The International Youth Library, Munich, included it in its White Ravens selection of international notable new books. It was the first of five of Nick Earls's novels to become plays. Two have also been adapted into feature films.