Biographical note

Pam Ayres has been a writer, broadcaster, and entertainer for over forty years. She is the author of several bestselling poetry books, including The Works, Surgically Enhanced, You Made Me Late Again!, and The Last Hedgehog. Pam’s autobiography, The Necessary Aptitude, was a bestseller. Her book Pam Ayres on Animals, published last year, was the UK's Best Selling Poetry book of 2021. On radio she is a regular on Just A Minute, has made six series of her own Ayres On The Air, and has appeared twice on the legendary Desert Island Discs. Pam performs her solo stage show throughout the UK, and lives in the Cotswolds, where she is an enthusiastic gardener for wildlife.

Nicola O'Byrne was born in Swaziland, grew up in Singapore and has lived in Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Edinburgh, London and Cambridge. When Nicola was five years old her parents banned Saturday morning television, and she has been drawing ever since. Nicola has a Bachelor's degree in Illustration from Edinburgh College of Art and an MA (Printmaking) from Camberwell College of Art. In 2014 her picture book Open Very Carefully won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize, the Stockport Children's Book Prize and the Oldham's Brilliant Book Award, was highly commended for the UKLA Book Award and shortlisted for Oscar's First Book Prize and the Sheffield Children's Book Award. She now lives in sunny Los Angeles with her husband, Sjoerd, and their invisible dog, Chewbacca.