Sara Barnard lives in Brighton and does all her best writing on trains. She loves books, book people and book things. She has been writing ever since she was too small to reach the “on” switch on the family Amstrad computer. She gets her love of words from her dad, who made sure she always had books to read and introduced her to the wonders of secondhand book shops at a young age. Sara is trying to visit every country in Europe, and has managed to reach 13 with her best friend. She has also lived in Canada and worked in India. Sara is inspired by what-ifs and people. She thinks sad books are good for the soul and happy books lift the heart. She hopes to write lots of books that do both. Find her on Twitter at @saramegan.
 

Juno Dawson grew up in West Yorkshire, writing imaginary episodes of “Doctor Who”. She later turned her talent to journalism, interviewing bands before writing for a Brighton newspaper. Until recently, Juno worked as a teacher, specialising in PSHE. She is most proud of her work surrounding anti-bullying and family diversity. In 2014 she became a School Role Model for the charity Stonewall. In 2015, Juno announced her intention to undergo gender transition and live as a woman. Find her on Twitter at @junodawson.

Laura Dockrill is an author, illustrator and performance poet. She grew up in Brixton and attended the Brit School and still lives in London. She is author of CILIP Carnegie Medal nominated YA novel Lorali and its sequel Aurabel, as well as the Darcy Burdock series for younger readers, which was nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal and shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize. Other books include Echoes, a collection of poems and short stories and a number of adult poetry collections. Her debut children’s poetry collection, My Mum’s Growing Down, was published in August 2017 by Faber & Faber. She curated The Wondercrump World of Roald Dahl exhibition at the Southbank Centre and loves to visit schools and festivals and meet young readers. Laura has appeared on Blue Peter and CBeebies and is a frequent poet performer at festivals. Find her on Twitter at @LauraDockrill.

Muhammad Khan is an engineer, a secondary school maths teacher, and a YA author. He lives in South London and is studying for an MA in Creative Writing at St Mary’s. Muhammad takes his inspiration from the children he teaches, as well as his own upbringing as a British-born Pakistani. He has written two novels for Macmillan Children’s Books: I Am Thunder and Kick the Moon. Find him on Twitter at @mkhanauthor.

Louise O’Neill grew up in Clonakilty, a small town in West Cork, Ireland. Her first novel, 2014’s Only Ever Yours won the Sunday Independent Newcomer of the Year at the 2014 Bord Gáis Energy Irish Book Awards; the Children’s Books Ireland Eilís Dillon Award; and The Bookseller‘s inaugural YA Book Prize 2015.  Louise’s second novel, 2015’s Asking For It, was voted Book of the Year at the Irish Books Awards 2015 and spent 52 consecutive weeks in the Irish top 10 bestseller list. Her first novel for adults, Almost Love, was published in March 2018, followed by The Surface Breaks in May 2018. Find her on Twitter at @oneilllo.

Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She completed a degree in English at Durham University in 2016 and is currently a full-time writer and illustrator. Alice can usually be found staring aimlessly at computer screens, questioning the meaninglessness of existence, or doing anything and everything to avoid getting an office job. Alice’s first book, Solitaire, was published when she was 19. Her second, Radio Silence, was released in early 2016, and her third, I Was Born For This, in 2018. Find her on Twitter at @AliceOseman.

Tom Pollock lives and works in London. His debut trilogy, The Skyscraper Throne, won him a place on the Guardian’s list of 20 bet young novelists in science fiction and fantasy. The first title, The City’s Son, was shortlisted for the Kitschies Golden Tentacle. The Glass Republic was shortlisted for the British Fantasy Award and Our Lady of The Streets was one of the Guardian‘s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy novels of 2014. Tom’s second YA thriller, Heartstream—a story about celebrity, intimacy and conspiracy that asks who you can trust—will be published in July 2019. Find him on Twitter at @tomhpollock.

Fiona Shaw wrote a memoir and four novels for adults before writing Outwalkers. She was just beginning a fifth adult novel when she had a dream about a boy trying to leave England. That dream, together with what she was reading in the news, was the start of Outwalkers. Fiona’s adult novel Tell it to the Bees will be released as a feature film in 2018. Find her on Twitter at @fionakshaw.

Katherine Webber is originally from California but currently lives in London. She has also lived and worked in Hong Kong, Maui, and Atlanta. She loves an adventure, whether it is found in a book or in real life. Travel, books, and eating out are her favourite indulgences. Her debut YA novel was Wing Jones, published by Walker Books. She also writes the young fiction series Sam Wu Is Not Afraid as Katie Tsang with her husband Kevin Tsang. Find her on Twitter at @kwebberwrites.

Laura Wood is an academic and writer. She is the winner of the Montegrappa Scholastic Prize for New Children’s Writing and the author of the Poppy Pym series. Laura loves Georgette Heyer novels, Fred Astaire films, travelling to far flung places, recipe books, Jilly Cooper, poetry, cosy woollen jumpers, Edith Nesbit, crisp autumn leaves, Jack Gilbert, new stationery, sensation fiction, salted caramel, feminism, Rufus Sewell’s cheek-bones, dogs, and drinking lashings of ginger beer.