Niamh Sharkey is an award-winning author and illustrator of children's picture books and former Children's Laureate of Ireland.

Her books have won numerous awards including the prestigious Mother Goose Award for the Best New Illustrator and the Bisto Book of the Year for her first two picture books; Tales of Wisdom and Wonder and The Gigantic Turnip.

In 2019 On the Road with Mavis and Marge won the Junior Book of the Year Award at the Irish Book Awards and Tales from Old Ireland was included in the International Board of Books for Young People Honour Book List in 2002. She is also the creator of and executive producer of Henry Hugglemonster, an animated pre-school series on Disney Junior, based on her picture book I'm a Happy Hugglewug (Walker Books).