Piers Torday (Author)
Piers Torday began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His first book for children, The Last Wild, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award, nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and is being adapted for the stage by the Unicorn and National Theatre. His second book, The Dark Wild, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. Other titles include There May Be A Castle (People's Book Award finalist), which was adapted for the stage by the Little Angel Theatre, The Lost Magician (Teach Primary Book Award) and Midnight Treasure, the New Statesman Children's Book of the Year. He recently adapted The Box of Delights for the RSC. Other stage adaptations include Christmas Carol and The Wind in the Willows (Wilton's Music Hall).

Tim Smart (Illustrator)
Tim Smart is a children's illustrator from the United Kingdom. Tim's illustrations draw inspiration from his experiences growing up by the ocean and climbing trees in forests, from the music he makes with his family and friends, and the strong oral tradition of storytelling that has been around since childhood. He likes pulling faces in the mirror, drinking coffee, sitting by fires, climbing trees, rolling down hills, the smell of the ocean, chasing dogs, watching birds and singing.