Bel Kaufman was an author and schoolteacher. Born in Berlin in 1911, she spent her childhood in Odessa and emigrated with her family to the Bronx when she was twelve. Her grandfather was the Yiddish humourist Sholem Aleichem. In addition to Up the Down Staircase, she is also the author of the novel Love, Etc. She died in 2014

Gabbie Stroud is a freelance writer and novelist and recovering teacher. After years of juggling the demands of the primary classroom, she made the painful decision to leave the profession she had loved.

In 2016, her critical commentary of Australia's education system was published in Griffith Review's Edition 51 Fixing the System, which went on to be shortlisted for a Walkley Award. Gabbie's smash-hit memoir Teacher was shortlisted for Biography Book of the Year at the 2018 ABIA Awards and continues to contribute to the national dialogue on education.

In 2020 her book, Dear Parents, offered a passionate call to arms for all parents. Gabbie's first novel, Young Adult fiction Measuring Up was published by Scribe in 2009. The Things That Matter Most is her debut fiction for adults. Gabbie lives on Yuin Nation on the far south coast of New South Wales with her totally awesome daughters, Olivia and Sophie.