Asia

As both award-winning author and musician, Craig Smith never cease to amaze with his works that marries the best of both worlds, music and story New books, My Daddy Ate an Apple and now released Square Eyes are both bestselling. Craig has sold nearly one million copies of his books worldwide. He is currently working to turn more of his songs into children books.

Catherine Torres is a diplomat and writer from Manila, Philippines. Her work has taken her to postings in New Delhi, Singapore, and now, Berlin, where she lives with her husband, a Korean scholar and translator, and their son, Samuel. When foreign affairs, as well as domestic ones, permit, Catherine voyages around the world on boats made of words. Occasionally, as with Sula's Voyage, she even builds the boat herself. Learn more about her at www.voyagewithsula.com.

Marjorie Sayer was born in Hong Kong and educated in Canada and the United States. She studied math and physics and won the D. G. Studer prize in Quantum Mechanics and a National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada fellowship in Mathematics. She has worked as a math consultant, technical author and teacher. Her middle grade novel, The Girl Mechanic Of Wanzhou, was first runner up for the 2011 Scholastic Asia Book Award, which showcases excellence in Asian writing for children. She lives in California with her husband and two daughters.

Author of best-selling children's picture books for which he has won many awards, Aaron Blabey is now one of those annoyingly successful people that everyone loved almost overnight. His recent masterpiece, Pig the Pug and The Bad Guys has been translated into many languages and are published in over 25 countries including the USA, the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, India, Turkey, China, Japan, South Korea and Brazil, just to name a few. He was also a skilled stage and screen actor for many years before becoming one of Australia s best loved writers for kids.

Pronounced 'Kway', Emma Quay grew up in England, and has wanted to be a writer and illustrator of children's picture books for as long as she can remember. She works from a studio in her home, and sometimes feels like she barely leaves it . . . but her illustrative work is held in collections around the world, including the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. She has also collaborated with notable authors such as Anna Walker and Mem Fox and has won several awards.

nd Old Norse and has conducted numerous writing workshops. Several of her essays have been printed in collections and anthologies.

Internationally acclaimed picture-book creator David Shannon has always been an artist. At the age of five, he wrote and illustrated his first book. On every page were pictures of David doing things he was not supposed to do and these words: No, David! the only words he knew how to spell! Many years later, when his mother sent him that book, Shannon was inspired to write and illustrate his now-classic bestseller No, David! His illustrations have appeared in a wide variety of publications, including The New York Times, Time, and Rolling Stone .