Katya Balen studied English at university and then completed an MPhil researching the impact of stories on autistic children's behaviour. She has worked in a variety of special needs schools as a teaching assistant, and more recently co-founded Mainspring Arts - a non-profit organisation that provides mentoring and creative opportunities for neurodivergent adults. Katya is the author of October, October and The Space We're In which was shortlisted for the 2020 Branford Boase Award.
Pham Quang Phuc is an illustrator from Vietnam. Nowadays he mostly does children's books. With his childhood dream of writing for children, he now considers storytelling as a way of balancing his life and hopes young readers will gain interests and dreams from his books. Among other prizes, Quang Phuc was the Winner of The ASEAN Children's Book Illustrator; he was awarded 'Best in Fiction' for his 'Everywhere Monsters' illustration series.