Marie Alafaci has been writing for her own entertainment for most of her life, so she was surprised and delighted when publishers began publishing her work around 17 years ago.

She's written non-fiction and fiction for children as well as adults, in long form and short, and her biography of her aunt and grandparents coming to Australia in the 1920s from Italy, Savage Cows & Cabbage Leaves - an Italian Life, was on the Age best-sellers list and short-listed for a number of awards. Marie has worked for the Australian Society of Authors, reviewed books and written feature articles.

She has also been a buyer for Myer Stores, a corporate trainer, a science and English teacher, a manuscript assessor and a pharmacy assistant. She teaches short courses in grammar and punctuation and is working on a series of short stories, but her first love is reading and writing children's books. At home she has two chooks, two cats, two children and one husband, all of whom are a constant source of amusement and inspiration.

Shane McG is a Melbourne-based illustrator who writes and illustrates his own picture books as well as illustrating for a wide range of books for other authors.

Shane has been drawing ever since he can remember. At school, he created his own comic strips and now he makes picture books and illustrations for people all around the world.