PHILIP PULLMAN is one of the most acclaimed and best-selling writers at work today. He is best known for the His Dark Materials trilogy: The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass, which has been named one of the top 100 novels of all time by Newsweek and one of the all-time greatest novels by Entertainment Weekly. In 2004, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He lives in Oxford, England.

SIMON MASON writes books for both children and adults. His first adult novel won the Betty Trask First Novel award, while Moon Pie, a novel for young adults, was shortlisted for the Guardian Children's Fiction prize. Running Girl, his first Garvie Smith mystery novel, was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book award. Kid got Shot, the second, won Crimefest's best Crime Novel for YA in 2017. Simon lives in Oxford, England.