Joy Cowley is one of New Zealand's best-loved writers. Her awards include the Margaret Mahy Medal; the NZ Post Children's Book Award 2006; the Roberta Long Medal Alabama USA; and the AW Reed Award for Contribution to New Zealand Literature. She is a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. David Barrow is a recent graduate of the Cambridge School of Art where he completed a Masters in Children's Book Illustration and received the top prize the Sebastian Walker award for most promising children's illustrator. He lives in England with his wife and son.