J.K. Rowling is best known as the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which were first published between 1997 and 2007. The enduringly popular adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione have sold over 500 million copies, been translated into over 80 languages, and made into eight blockbuster films, the last of which was released in 2011. Alongside the Harry Potter series, she also wrote three short companion volumes -- Quidditch Through the Ages, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard -- which were published in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos. In 2016, J.K. Rowling collaborated with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany to resume Harry’s story in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which opened first in London, and is now playing on Broadway and in Melbourne, Australia. In the same year, she made her debut as a screenwriter with the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which was inspired by the original companion volume and features magizoologist Newt Scamander. Her second screenplay, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, was released in cinemas in 2018. J.K. Rowling has also written a stand-alone novel for adults, The Casual Vacancy, and, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, is the author of the Strike crime series. She lives in Scotland with her family, and is at her happiest alone in a room, making things up.
Emily Gravett won the Macmillan Prize for Illustration with her first book Wolves, which went on to win the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Boston Globe Horn Book Honor Award for Illustration and marked the beginning of an international career creating extraordinary and innovative books for children: Little Mouse’s Big Book of Fears won the Kate Greenaway Medal for her a second time. Her own picture books are published in more than 20 languages and she has also collaborated with some of the most creative writers working today including Julia Donaldson, A.F. Harrold, and Matt Haig. She lives in Brighton, United Kingdom, with her daughter and partner.