Kerry is an elementary school teacher who lives on a farm in Antrim (blink and you’ll miss it!) in the Ottawa Valley with her husband, Neil, their two young boys, Robert and Ole, and their dog, Lily. A city girl most of her life, she has grown to love muddy creeks, rogue cows and, yes, even John Deere tractors.#Sleep, Sheep! is Kerry’s first published book. She wrote the first draft of it in 2011, when she was teaching an amazing group of grade-four students in Arnprior. The class, teacher included, would write for ten minutes a day about whatever topic inspired them in whichever form they chose. Between the poems, letters and newscasts the students came up with each day, Sleep, Sheep! was born.#Kerry’s mom was the first to read Sleep, Sheep!, shortly before she passed away in 2014. Inspired by her mom’s faith in her ability as a writer, Kerry decided to submit her manuscript to a publisher. On a cold winter day, ice-skating with the kids in the barn (yes, the barn!), she got an email from Kids Can Press that began a new adventure for her as a published author.

Loredana Cunti was born the middle child between two brothers in an Italian immigrant family. She was raised outside Kleinburg, Ontario, and counted feeding the chickens among her chores when she was little.#As a child, Loredana preferred sports to writing and reading. She often got into trouble at school for talking too much, but eventually this served her well as she began winning speech contests and drama awards.#She began her career in radio as a guest host on a Jamaican radio program and then on a multicultural radio station featuring Italian, Chinese, German, Indian and other world music programs. She eventually worked in children’s entertainment as an executive producer of animated programs, and moved to England, where she went on to become Senior Vice President of Children’s Programming at Universal Pictures.#She spent many years traveling and working and has lived in many cities, including London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles and Rome. While living in Paris, she became a mother of two and a Cordon Bleu Pastry Chef.#Loredana moved back to Canada with her family after nearly 17 years away and wanted to spend more time with her children than traveling the world. Inspired by her childrens’ dreams to go to space, she started writing and co-authored the award-winning Dr. Dave Astronaut series of four junior nonfiction books.#She realized that while sitting and writing, she could travel anywhere her imagination would take her and still be home in time for the after-school pickup.#She is passionate about sharing stories of culture and family through food. She loves inventing stories around fun facts, coaching kids’ soccer, eating cake, cooking and listening to all kinds of music. Her hobbies are cooking festive foods and learning a few words in any language she can. She plans to keep writing as long as the little friends in her brain want her to tell their stories.

Anna Mainwaring studied English Literature, which led to a career in banking. She left to travel and then to train as a teacher. Anna took part in NaNoWriMo in 2012, and after endless drafts, Rebel with a Cupcake was born. When not writing, Anna can be found walking up hills or in cafés. She lives in Cheshire, England, with her family, including a murderous gold fish called Moriarty.

Heather Smith spent much of her early life wrestling with words. Not only was she a reluctant reader, she struggled with speech as well. Unable to pronounce certain words, she became a walking thesaurus, anxiously swapping out words she wanted to say with words she could say. Today, Heather wrestles with words in a different way – she’s a writer. Instead of dodging words, she grabs them tight with both hands and finds them a home on the page.~Originally from Newfoundland, Heather now lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Her east coast roots inspire much of her writing. When Heather is not writing, she is probably eating toast and/or watching documentaries that most people would find boring.~Twitter: @heather_t_smith~Instagram: @heather.t.smith~Facebook: @HeatherWritesBooks

Emme Cross is a veteran journalist who has worked at the biggest media outlets in Canada, and has met everyone from politicians to rock stars. She has written and read the news on the biggest radio station in the country and researched and wrote for the biggest news station in Canada.~ ~After decades of getting up before the sun, she morphed into a career in the public service where she works in communications and media relations.#Emme is the proud author of nine romance novels and a screenplay that was made into a docudrama about the murder of Dorothy Stratten for the Reelz network in the United States. She is currently working on a science-fiction novel.#Emme is an avid reader, gardener, world traveller and foodie. She lives in Oakville, Ontario, with her husband and their English Bull Terriers.~Twitter: @emmecross