Janie Hao is a fun-loving, media-playing, idea-generating illustrator currently based just outside of Toronto, though she has lived all over Canada. When she is not drawing, Janie enjoys devising stories and puns to amuse (or dismay) her loved ones. She holds a degree in illustration from Sheridan College and was among the winners of both the AI-AP International Motion Art Awards 8 and the Applied Arts Student Awards 2020.
Tatyana Feeney
Tatyana Feeney is the author-illustrator of Little Owl’s Orange Scarf, which was nominated for the prestigious CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Her picture book Small Bunny’s Blue Blanket was nominated for the Waterstones Book Prize. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives with her family in County Meath, Ireland.
Bob Holt
Bob Holt is an animator, illustrator and writer best known for co-creating Hallmark’s Hoops and Yoyo. He lives in Kansas City, Missouri.
Bambi Edlund
Bambi Edlund is a self-taught artist, designer, needle-felted sculptor and stop motion animator, and has been the Art Director for Edible Vancouver since 2008. She illustrated the book What a Waste: Where Does Garbage Go?. Bambi lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a large Bernese mountain dog named Beatrix and a big fluffy cat named Midge.
Ashley Spires
Ashley Spires grew up in Tsawwassen, British Columbia, with her parents, her sister, a dog, eight cats and the occasional newt. As a child she was constantly making drawings, stories and small polymer clay figures, to say nothing of her cross-stitching prowess. Despite being told she wasn’t the best drawer, she set out from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design to become a children’s book illustrator. Now, some twenty years later, she is known for creating many quirky beloved characters, including Small Saul, 2016’s TD Grade One Book Giveaway, Larf and Binky the Space Cat, who is now featured on his own animated television series. Ashley’s bestselling book The Most Magnificent Thing has been translated into nineteen languages worldwide and was recently adapted into a short animated film. She strives to make books that reflect her own struggles with making mistakes and how to learn from them. During the rare moments when she is not creating, she fosters orphaned kittens for her local animal shelter. She resides in Ladner, British Columbia, with her dog and many, many cats.