J.K. Rowling is the author of the enduringly popular Harry Potter series, as well as several stand-alone novels and a bestselling crime fiction series. After the idea for Harry Potter came to her on a delayed train journey in 1990, she plotted out and started writing the series of seven books and the first, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was published in the UK in 1997. The series took another ten years to complete, concluding in 2007 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Smash hit movie adaptations followed. The Harry Potter books have now sold over 600 million copies worldwide in 85 languages and been listened to as audiobooks for over one billion hours. To accompany the series, J.K. Rowling wrote three short companion volumes for charity: Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, in aid of Comic Relief and Lumos, and The Tales of Beedle the Bard, in aid of Lumos. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them went on to inspire a new series of films featuring Magizoologist Newt Scamander. Harry's story as a grown-up was continued in a stage play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which J.K. Rowling wrote with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany, and which is now playing in multiple locations around the world. In 2020, she returned to publishing for younger children with the fairy tale The Ickabog, the royalties from which she donated to her charitable trust, Volant, to help charities working to alleviate the social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her latest children's novel, The Christmas Pig, was published in 2021. J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honours for her writing, including the OBE and Companion of Honour, the Hans Christian Andersen Award and a Blue Peter Gold Badge. She supports a wide number of humanitarian causes through Volant, and is the founder of the international children's care reform charity Lumos. J.K. Rowling lives in Scotland with her family. Peter Goes is a freelance artist and picture book illustrator, living in Belgium. He studied animation at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent. Peter combines playful witches, wizards and magical creatures with an incredibly rich level of intricacy. Louise Lockhart studied illustration at the Glasgow School of Art and is now an independent illustrator and printmaker based in the UK. Louise's style is influenced by her love for vintage print ephemera and bright, bold colours. Weitong Mai is a Chinese-Canadian artist now based in London. She has won many awards and is a visiting lecturer at the University of Creative Arts. Weitong uses a soft, rich and unusual palette to evoke simmering potion fumes and shimmering streams of magic. Olia Muza was born in Uman, Ukraine. After studying graphic design, she discovered her passion for book illustration and hasn't looked back since. Olia is a remarkable storyteller who creates fun, magic and even mayhem with her work. Pham Quang Phuc is a children's book illustrator from Vietnam with a rich and decorative style. He has illustrated many books, and considers storytelling a way to balance his life. Among other prizes, Quang Phuc is a winner of The ASEAN Children's Book Illustrator Best in Fiction award. Levi Pinfold has been drawing from his imagination for as long as he can remember. He has published many acclaimed books, and is a winner of the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Born in the Forest of Dean, he now lives in northern New South Wales, Australia. Tomislav Tomic lives with his family in Croatia. He graduated from the Academy of Fine Art in Zagreb. He has always loved making picture books and already had work published when he was in high school. Tomislav creates exquisite and intensely detailed pen and ink drawings.
