Beth Shoshan was born in Brighton. She never seemed destined to be 
a children's writer, after all she 
had failed English Composition.
 But everything changed when she
 was challenged by Meadowside 
to write the most inappropriate
 children's book imaginable - it
 should contain sweets, explosions 
and arcane English words. She 
did, and Smidge became an instant 
best-seller. Now with over 30 titles 
to her name, Beth has become one
 of the most successful children's
 authors of the past few years.
Illustrator Piers Harper (pictured) lives and works deep in the countryside of north England and illustrates at his desk over looking the Cumbrian mountains. He decided to be an illustrator after leaving university and has been for many years now. He works mostly in watercolours, enjoying the way that they move around on the paper. His collaboration with best-selling author Beth Shoshan on the brilliant Mess Monsters series has made him a star illustrator!