Qian Shi grew up in Shijiazhuang, a northern city in China. She has always been drawn to stories and loved making pictures. Her short animation Shoe won two awards and she has worked with Donna Wilson, Volvo and Disney.

She now lives with her husband, Callum, in East London. The inspiration for her debut picture book The Weaver was a spider's web with a piece of leaf in the middle, as if the spider had collected it. Secretly, Qian is a little bit afraid of spiders.