Tonka Uzu was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, and has lived in Italy before relocating to Cambridge, UK. She holds a BA Hons in History and Theory of Art from the University of Bologna and a Master’s degree in Children’s Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art at Anglia Ruskin University. Alongside her career as an illustrator, Tonka works as an artist facilitator. She has a passion for drawing children and animals, bringing her unique blend of cultural experiences and academic background to her enchanting illustrations.
Hervé Le Goff was born in Saint-Brieuc, France. A graduate of the Beaux-Arts, he spent three years at the Beaux-Arts, in both Quimper and Caen, where he obtained a Diplôme National d’Arts Plastiques.
He is the creator of the successful Mamie Poule series and the Entre dans le conte series, as well as the illustrator of Boucle d’or et autres contes en musique and Le Manteau Rouge, and the illustrator of dozens of children’s books.
In 2000, he was awarded the “Prix de l’album jeunesse 2000 de Brive-la-Gaillarde”. He was part of the 2023 traveling youth literature festival Les Troubadours in the United States. In 2024, he contributed to the poetry book Émotions.
Phoebe Roze is an illustrator from the Scottish Highlands, currently based in Edinburgh. Often looking towards the landscapes, nature and folklore of Scotland to inspire her, a sense of place and playfulness are important elements within her work. Since graduating with a first class honours in Illustration, Phoebe has worked with many interesting organisations, including The Folio Society, Glasgow Children’s Hospital and Dundee City Council. When she isn’t drawing, she can usually be found out cycling on her bike or with her nose in a good book. Our Islands is first author/illustrator book.
Will Hamilton-Davies is a Bristol-based children’s author and poet. His stories champion confidence, curiosity and courage – empowering young readers to speak up, stand out and embrace the world around them.
A testament to his ambition and belief, Will crowdfunded and self-published The Shrew with the Flu, which has now sold over 5,000 copies in the UK alone.
Iris Samartzi was born in Athens, Greece. She studied Graphic Design and Interior Design & Architecture in Vakalo School, and graduated with a scholarship. She has attended seminars on child painting and drama in painting. She collaborated with Vakalo School as an assistant professor in Scenography courses, Product Design and Architecture Interiors. She has been working as a children’s book illustrator since 2004, and has been awarded by the Greek IBBY, the EBGE Design Awards, and the Greek National Book Prize. In 2016 she won the Compostela Prize for picture books for the book El último día (author: A. Papatheodoulou). She has been nominated twice for the H.C. Andersen Award (2020, 2022) and is also a nominee for the 2021 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. She teaches art to preschool children.
Kasia Fryza (Katarzyna Księżopolska) is an illustrator from Warsaw. She attended a visual arts high school in Warsaw before graduating from the Academy of Art in Łódź with a diploma in Product Design. She started her career in advertising but soon realised she wanted to dedicate her life to illustration, which had been a lifelong dream. She is always searching for new ways to push herself, playing with graphics and illustration, she is usually surrounded by pictures, papers, clay, gypsum, pencils, paints and fine felt pens. She loves drawing and travelling through Europe with her husband, daughter and dog in their old van.
Matt Schu is a Portland, Oregon–based artist and children’s book illustrator whose work includes Cut!, My Cat Does Ballet, the Cosmic Collisions series, and more with HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Candlewick, and MIT Press. He studied art at the University of Oregon and worked as a graphic designer before turning to illustration. His paintings and drawings have been shown at Nucleus galleries, and he was awarded the Regional Arts & Culture Council Catalyst grant.
Diana Marciano has an education in Publishing and Journalism and Modern Philology. She is the author of several works ranging from essays to comics. Diana works as an editor and copywriter for various publishing houses, and occasionally forays into journalism. She has a strong interest in film adaptations of novels and plays.
Dávid Pogran is an illustrator and designer from Poprad, Slovakia, he is passionate about bringing stories to life through art. Inspired by nature, music and dreams, his work explores the harmony between reality and the surreal – with flowers often stealing his attention.
Michelle Beech is an illustrator and author from Devon, UK. She enjoys inventing stories from her imagination and experiences. Living in South West England means that she is never far from woodland, moorland and coastline. This close relationship with nature strongly influences her work, which is often inspired by the magic and beauty of the natural world. She loves to create enchanting characters and dreamlike settings through her watercolour illustrations. Michelle studied Illustration BA (Hons) at Falmouth University and MA Illustration at Plymouth University.
