Mary Ann Shaffer was born in 1934 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. She worked as an editor, a librarian and in bookshops. She became interested in Guernsey while visiting London in 1976. On a whim, she decided to fly to Guernsey but became stranded there as a heavy fog descended and no boats or planes were permitted to leave the island.

As she waited for the fog to clear, she came across a book called Jersey Under the Jack-Boot, and so her fascination with the Channel Isles began. Many years later, when goaded by her own literary club to write a book, Mary Ann naturally thought of Guernsey. Mary Ann died in February 2008. She knew that this, her only novel, was to be published in thirteen countries.

Before she died she wrote, 'I must tender special thanks to my niece, Annie, who stepped in to finish this book after unexpected health issues interrupted my ability to work shortly after the manuscript was sold. Without blinking an eye, she put down the book she was writing, pushed up her sleeves, and set to work on my manuscript. It was my great good luck to have a writer like her in the family, and this book could not have been done without her.'

Annie Barrows is the #1 New York Times bestselling co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, and the author of The Truth According to Us, and the Ivy + Bean chapter book series.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was a Time and USA Today best book of the year.

Her books have been nominated for many awards, including the Bluestem Award, the Mark Twain Award, the Virginia Readers' Choice, the Massachusetts Children's Book Award, and the Kentucky Bluegrass Award, and have been included on the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing.

Ivy + Bean has been an ALA Notable Book and is one of Common Sense Media's "50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12."