Nnedi Okorafor was born in the United States to Nigerian parents of Igbo descent. Her novels include Who Fears Death (winner of the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel), Akata Witch (an Amazon.com Best Book of the Year), Zahrah the Windseeker (winner of the Wole Soyinka Prize for African Literature), and The Shadow Speaker (winner of the CBS Parallax Award).

Her work spans several genres and age ranges, as evidenced by her short story collection Kabu Kabu and science fiction novel Lagoon (finalist for Best Novel in the British Science Fiction Association Awards and the Red Tentacle Awards).

Her latest release, Binti, won both the Hugo Award for Best Novella and the Nebula Award for Best Novella. Nnedi is an associate professor at the University at Buffalo, New York. She splits her time between Buffalo and Chicago with her daughter Anyaugo and family.

Mehrdokht Amini is the illustrator of Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns: A Muslim Book of Colors, Chicken in the Kitchen, Yo Soy Muslim, and other books for children. For Crescent Moons and Pointed Minarets, she was inspired by the idea of bringing classical elements of Islamic art into a modern setting. She grew up in Iran and now lives in Surrey, England.