Paul Russell is a primary teacher, artist, playwright and children's author. Having been in classrooms for over 30 years, it really isn't surprising that all of his heroes are teachers. Paul is particularly passionate about children's literacy and in building an appetite within children for the written word and sharing stories. Paul is the author of My Storee (2018, EK Books), The Incurable Imagination (2019, EK Books), The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp (2021, EK Books) and Courageous Lucy (2021, EK Books). He has won awards for his stories, with Grandma Forgets making the CBCA list of notable picture books in 2018.
Nicky Johnston is an educator, speaker and author/illustrator of children's books. She enjoys every aspect of creating books for kids, especially illustration. Nicky's illustration style is often described as whimsical, emotive, soft and expressive. She is passionate about promoting emotional resilience in children and raising awareness of mental health issues. Nicky's love of teaching sees her busy with school visits to share her journey of becoming an author and illustrator, and to show children the process of creating a book using excerpts of her work. She also presents at workshops and conferences. As well as teaching, Nicky works from home writing and illustrating in her art studio, and has contributed to 16 books including At the End of Holyrood Lane(EK Books, 2018), The Fix-It Man (EK Books 2017), Saying Goodbye to Barkley (EK Books, 2019), The Incredibly Busy Mind of Bowen Bartholomew Crisp (with Paul Russell, 2021, EK Books) and Upside-Down Friday (EK Books, 2021).