Asia

Katrina Charman was the recipient of the SCBWI British Isles' Margaret Carey scholarship for fiction in 2013, and in 2014 she was one of the winners of the SCBWI's Undiscovered Voices competition. Katrina's first children's book, the early reader The Ninjabread Man, was published with Franklin Watts (UK) in July 2015. The Last Firehawk is her first early chapter book series. Katrina lives in South East England with her husband and three daughters.

Heath McKenzie is an exciting youngMelbourne-based illustrator and designer who specialises in stylised illustrations. He has illustrated 15 children's books across a wide range of genresand his work has appeared in magazines andadvertising campaigns.

T h o m a s F l i n t h a m h a s a l w a y s l o v e d t o d r a w a n d t e l l s t o r i e s , a n d n o w t h a t i s h i s j o b ! H e g r e w u p i n L i n c o l n , E n g l a n d , a n d s t u d i e d i l l u s t r a t i o n i n C a m b e r w e l l , L o n d o n , w h e r e h e l i v e s t o d a y . S o m e t h i n g s T h o m a s l i k e s i n c l u d e v i d e o g a m e s , r a i n y d a y s , a l l k i n d s o f b o o k s , a n d y u m m y y u m m y c h o c o l a t e .

D a v e W o l v e r t o n w a s b o r n i n 1 9 5 7 a n d i s a s c i e n c e f i c t i o n a u t h o r w h o a l s o g o e s u n d e r t h e p s e u d o n y m , D a v i d F a r l a n d , f o r h i s f a n t a s y w o r k s . H e c u r r e n t l y l i v e s i n S t . G e o r g e , U t a h w i t h h i s w i f e a n d f i v e c h i l d r e n . H e i s t h e a u t h o r o f f i f t y n o v e l s a n d a l s o k n o w n a s t h e W i z a r d o f S t o r y t e l l i n g .

Krosoczka is a two-time winner of the Children s Choice Book Awards Third to Fourth Grade Book of the Year and has been a finalist for the prestigious Will Eisner Comic Industry Award. He has delivered two TED Talks, which have collectively accrued more than two million views online. Krosoczka has been featured on NPR and can be heard weekly on The Book Report with JJK on SiriusXM s Kids Place Live, a show focusing on books, authors, and reading. His Punk Farm, Lunch Lady, and Platypus Police Squad series are all currently in development for film.

Emily Wallis is an illustrator based in Brighton, UK. Emily loves everything to do with horses and there her favorite animals to draw! Emily's work is traditionally hand-drawn, either with watercolor and pencil, or pen and ink. Emily earned an MA in Sequential Design and Illustration from the University of Brighton. Silver Pony Ranch is her first children's book series.

Melinda Szymanik writes picture books, short stories and novels for children and young adults. Writing children's fiction for the last twelve or so years, she won the Children's Choice Award at the 2009 NZ Post Children's Book Awards with her picture book The Were-Nana (Scholastic 2008). This book is also a Storylines Notable book for 2009 and was short listed for the 2010 Sakura Medal.

Sam Ricks went to a haunted grade school, but he never got to be the hall monitor. And, as far as he knows, the school never tried to eat him. Sam graduated from the University of Baltimore with a master's degree in design.He teaches illustration and design at The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Utah. And he illustrates strange tales.

Amy Marie Stadelmann did not grow up with a sister who was a witch, or with a talking pig. But she did grow up with a very active imagination! She often imagined that she had magical powers and could talk to animals. Like Olive, Amy loves reading and is curious about the world around her. And, like Beatrix, she is horribly afraid of spiders! Amy lives in Brooklyn, New York, with a non-talking dog. Olive & Beatrix is her first children's book series.

Graham Howells is a children's book author and illustrator. He also produces artwork for games, television, and film. Howells won the 2009 English Tir na n-Og Award for his book Merlin's Magical Creatures.