Nat Luurtsema was a stand-up comic for eight years and is now a comedy writer, author and film-maker. She was nominated for a BAFTA for her first short film, collaborates in comedy writers' rooms and is an occasional co-host on the podcast The Guilty Feminist. She writes funny books for children and teenagers, and Opie Jones is her first middle grade book.

Fay Austin lives with her family in Surrey. Self-taught, Fay has spent the last 14 years wrapped up in children's stories and imaginations working as a creative practitioner in schools and theatrical settings. In 2014, she completed an MA at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (University London). Although Fay often likes to keep her "jazz hand" past quiet, she still loves to belt out Disney songs at the top of her lungs (much to her husband and son's dismay) Fay is at her happiest with a cup of tea in one hand and a pencil in the other. She regards Neil Buchanan as an icon and national treasure.