20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Lia was born in a small town in Transylvania, Romania, where she now lives with her husband and lots of house plants. She has a BA in traditional graphic arts, but she is a self taught children's books illustrator. She discovered her passion for children's illustrations very early on. Later, she started working on children's magazines with a local publishing house and knew she wanted to continue on this route. Presently, she works with renowned publishers from all over the world like Walker Books, Usborne, Harper Collins and many more. Lia gets inspiration from nature, old photographs and childhood memories. Her style has beautiful color palettes and lots of details, which transform into wonderfully whimsical illustrations.

Penny Dolan is a children's writer and storyteller living in North Yorkshire. She is a popular speaker with both infant and junior children, and has visited many School Book Weeks and literacy events across the UK, with her enjoyable 'Author Talks' and lively story-telling sessions. She has also spoken and performed in libraries, bookshops, museums, art galleries, historic sites and outdoor locations, and has appeared on the children's programme of several literature festivals. She has a wide interest in children's books and has been Chair of the Federation of Children's Book Groups. Penny has a wide experience of schools. She was a primary advisory teacher for English and Drama but has been a freelance language arts worker for several years. She has also taught on residential writing courses for children, tutored both storytelling and writing courses for adults, and spoken at conferences. Penny has a degree in Education, specialising in Language and Literacy and an Advanced Diploma in Educational Drama. As well as working on her writing, Penny enjoys drawing, painting, reading, chatting and daydreaming. Her favourite colour is yellow. Her favourite food is strawberries-and-cream, and she is probably the world's slowest swimmer. She has three untidy desks, two grown-up children and one rather bad cat.