Bes Ceyssens (1998) from Bilzen, Belgium has been captivated by reading and writing from an early age. She spends all her free hours writing books for young adults. When she couldn’t find a book about ballet that completely met her needs, she decided to write one herself. The result was her intriguing debut novel The Last Dance.

Laia Roca Trullols (1999) is an illustrator, art director, and graphic designer from Spain. She specializes in children’s books, middle grade books, and chapter books, as well as illustration for licensing across all kinds of products and surfaces. As a child, she struggled with reading, but rather than avoiding books, she was drawn to them. Every Friday, she would visit her local library and lose herself in picture books—not in the words, but in the illustrations. She would invent her own stories through the images, a habit that quietly planted the seed for her future career. Today, she brings stories to life through her own illustrations, with the same wonder that captivated her as a girl.