Clare Helen Welsh

Clare Helen Welsh is a primary school teacher with over ten years experience in Early Years and Key Stage One. In 2014 she became a Specialist Leader of Education and supports local schools to achieve high standards in phonics, primary languages and the Early Years Foundation Stage. Being a teacher gives Clare an outlet for her BIG ideas. Once she helped a class make a giant rice crispy cake that was so wide it wouldn't fit through the door!
But her best idea yet has been putting pen to paper. Clare loves writing funny stories but is particularly passionate about writing stories that help children deal with big feelings and difficult issues. Her first picture book was published in 2015, and she currently has books in development with a number of publishers. This is her first book for Macmillan.
Clare lives in Devon with her husband and two children and she says she does her best writing by the sea, which is lucky because she lives close to many beautiful beaches and the salty sea air.

Nicola O'Byrne was born in Swaziland, grew up in Singapore and has lived in Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Edinburgh, London and Cambridge. She now lives in sunny Los Angeles with her husband, Sjoerd, and their invisible dog, Chewbacca. 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 her spare time she enjoys weightlifting and baking. In 2014 her picture book Open Very Carefully won the Waterstone's 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. This is her first book for Macmillan.