Frances Stickley grew up in Nottingham and Norwich, where she spent much of her time making up poems and dressing up her dog. She is a trained children's literacy specialist and a primary school teacher who is happiest when she is covered in paint or stuck in a book.

In 2017, Frances was the winner of the Bloomsbury and National literacy trust short story prize 2017. She lives with her family and a big-eared dog called Babbage. When she is not writing, you'll probably find her in a forest playing dragons with her daughters.

Alice McKinley has worked in publishing for most of her career, working with brilliant companies such as Andersen Press, Little Tiger Press and Nobrow. She decided to chase her dreams and become an Author/Illustrator and completed the Children's Picture Book Illustration MA at the Cambridge School of Arts in 2018.

Her first author-illustrated book Nine Lives Newton published with Simon & Schuster UK this year and she is currently enjoying working on fiction and picture books in sunny Brighton. Here she lives with her boyfriend, myriads of books, and oh so many (many) plants! Other clients include Hachette Children's Books, Barrington Stoke and Affirm Press.