Eoin McLaughlin was born in Ireland and has since lived in locations as far-flung and varied as London, Hong Kong, Reigate, Tokyo, York, New York, Oxford, Amsterdam, Newcastle and Watford. He now lives in Surrey with his wife and their young son. A childhood spent obsessing about becoming a spy inspired Eoin to write the story of Secret Agent Elephant - and he ate a lot of mini pizzas in order to get into the mindset of his elephant hero. Secret Agent Elephant is Eoin's second picture book, following The Hug, illustrated by Polly Dunbar.

Ross Collins is a winner of the Macmillan Prize and illustrator of over 100 books for children, many of which he has also written. Among his bestselling titles are There's a Bear on My Chair - winner of the Amnesty CILIP Honour and a UKLA Award, as well as being shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal - I Am a Tiger, written by Karl Newson, and the Mabel Jones books, written by Will Mabbitt. Ross's The Elephantom, also shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal, was recently adapted as a stage show, playing at the National Theatre and in the West End. Ross lives with his family in Glasgow.