Lemony Snicket is the internationally bestselling author of the thirteen volumes in A Series of Unfortunate Events; several picture books, including The Dark and The Bad Mood and the Stick</em>; and the books collectively titled All the Wrong Questions. His work has sold between 70 and 80 million copies worldwide.
Xiran Jay Zhao is the #1 bestselling author of the Iron Widow duology. A first-gen Hui Chinese immigrant from small-town China to Vancouver, Canada, they were raised by the internet and made the inexplicable decision to leave their biochem degree in the dust to write books and make educational content instead. You can find them @XiranJayZhao on Twitter for memes, Instagram for cosplays and fancy outfits, TikTok for fun short videos, and YouTube for long videos about Chinese history and culture. Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor is their first middle grade novel.
Like Alice, Emily Kenny is autistic and wanted to write her debut novel about an autistic child protagonist. Emily studied English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, completed the MA in Children’s Literature at Roehampton University, and was part of the Spark Mentor scheme with WriteMentor. Emily works as a secondary school English teacher and Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator, and lives in London.
Nat Amoore is an award-winning writer and podcast host. Her debut Secrets of a Schoolyard Millionaire was a children’s book bestseller in Australia and her second book Secrets of an Undercover Activist won the Environment Award for Children’s Literature. Nat has travelled the world as a trapeze artist and had a pet kangaroo when she was little.
Angeline Boulley is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan. She gained attention for her debut Firekeeper’s Daughter thanks to We Need Diverse Books. It became a NYT No. 1 bestseller and has now sold in 20 territories worldwide. The book won the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2022; the YA Goodreads Choice Awards; the CrimeFest Best YA Crime Novel Prize.; the ALA Printz Award and Morris Award; the Walter Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature; and is Carnegie Medal Nominated. Firekeeper’s Daughter is soon to be made into a Netflix series. Angeline lives in Michigan but considers Sugar Island home.
Damien Love was born in Scotland and lives in Glasgow. He is the author of several books on film and filmmakers. He has the ability to talk to cats, but there is no evidence that they understand him. Monstrous Devices was his first novel. Learn more at damienlove.com.
Anthony McGowan is one of the most widely acclaimed young adult and children’s authors in the UK. His books have won numerous major awards. In 2020, he was awarded the CILIP Carnegie Medal for Lark. He was also shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal with Rook and won the Booktrust Teenage Prize and the Catalyst Award for Henry Tumour. His YA novel The Knife that Killed Me was made into a critically-lauded film in 2014. Anthony lives in London, with his wife, two children and dog.
Anna Woodbine is an independent book designer and illustrator based in the hills near Bath. She works on all sorts of book covers from children’s to adult’s, classics to crime, memoirs to meditation. She takes her tea with a dash of milk (Earl Grey, always), loves the wind in her face, comfortable shoes and that lovely damp smell after it’s rained.
Find her at: thewoodbineworkshop.co.uk
