Mara Bergman grew up in Wantagh, Long Island, USA, and knew at an early age that she wanted to be a writer. Her poems have been published in many magazines, and she received a Writer's Bursary from South East Arts UK for 1995/6, as well as prizes in several poetry competitions. Mara has always felt a strong link between poetry and picture books, and she began to write for children when her own were young. She now works in London as a children's fiction editor and lives in Tunbridge Wells with her family and their many pets. Cassia Thomas was born and raised in London; with a pencil in one hand and a cup of tea in the other. She has always loved how illustrators are able to transport you into their own worlds, and so aspired to be able to do the same. Cassia drew (a lot) and grew (not very much) and finally did a Masters in Children's Book Illustration, at Anglia Ruskin School of Art. The course helped her realise her ambition to become a visual storyteller. Since then, she's twice been selected for the Cheltenham Illustration Awards, where her work has been exhibited alongside such artists as Shaun Tan. 'Lively Elizabeth,' by Mara Bergman, is her first book. She very much hopes it'll be the first of many!