Ness Wood is an award winning book designer, art director and lecturer having taught at Goldsmiths, Cambridge School of Art, University of Brighton and UCLAN. She has works with many major publishers and is known for her encouraging and collaborative approach with illustrators. Ness has been a judge for the Bologna Ragazzi Award and was part of the winning team at the British Design and Production Awards, in the Graphic Novel Category. Ness is an Orange Beak co-founder and tutor.

You can follow Ness on instagram here

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Maisie Paradise Shearring is an international award-winning and published author-illustrator. In 2015, Maisie received the prestigious Bologna International Illustrators Award in recognition for her graphic novel, Susan's School Days. Maisie's picture books include, I'm Actually Really Grown-Up Now and Anna & Otis, both published by Two Hoots. Maisie has also recently illustrated, The Boy Who Loved Everyone, a picture book story written by Jane Porter and published by Walker Books. This book was awarded The Little Rebels Children's Book Award. Maisie has post-graduate teaching experience and is an Orange Beak co-founder and tutor.

You can follow Maisie on instagram here

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Sophie Burrows is an author, illustrator and comics creator. She is a graduate of the MA Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. During her studies, she won the V&A Illustration Award for Student Illustrator of the Year with her graphic short story Crushing. Her illustration work has been published internationally, and her debut picture book as author/illustrator, Ig Pig & Og Frog! was published by David Fickling Books. She also works as an associate lecturer on the MA Children’s Book Illustration, and is currently developing her next picture book and her first graphic novel.

You can follow Sophie on instagram here

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Birgitta Sif is an award winning children's book author and illustrator. She was born in Iceland, lived in and around Scandinavia and America while growing up, and worked as a graphic designer in New York before graduating with a Masters in Children's Book Illustration from the Cambridge School of Art. She is the creator of the Kate Greenaway shortlisted picture book, Oliver, which was also shortlisted for the Nordic Children's Book Literature Prize. He books Frances Dean Who Loved To Dance and Dance and Oliver were both endorsed by Amnesty International. Birgitta has written and illustrated numerous picturebooks that have sold all over the world. Her most recent picturebook, Hugo, is published by Walker Books UK. She is currently working on a book series with Candlewick Press in the US. 

You can follow Birgitta on instagram here

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David Barrow has been a shelf-stacker, a library assistant, a call-centre worker, a civil servant and a printer, so obviously it was only a matter of time before he tried his hand at writing and illustrating children’s books. He joined the world-renowned Children’s Book Illustration MA at Anglia Ruskin CSA. It turns out he actually found it a lot harder than all of the above, but ultimately a lot more rewarding.

Whilst on the course, David won the Sebastian Walker award for new talent in children’s book illustration at his degree show in 2015, and his first book Have You Seen Elephant? was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize and won the Zilveren Penseel. Since then, he has both written and illustrated books for several publishers and has been published internationally. He lives in Kettering with his toughest critics: wife Jo and son Teddy.

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You can follow David on instagram here