David Namisato lives in Toronto, and had started drawing pictures professionally in 2005. #But before that, David lived in rural Japan for two years, teaching English at six elementary schools. His office was next to a beach at the foot of a great mountain.#A year after returning to Canada, David kicked things off with drawing pictures for articles in the children’s magazine Know and, later, its sibling publication, Yes.#David then went on to draw the art for the comic series Gabe and Allie in Race through Time for the children’s history magazine Kayak, which showcased major moments in Canadian history.#Then there’s a huge gap where David didn’t work much on any children’s related material for several years until award-winning author J. Torres invited David to collaborate on a graphic novel pitch he was developing.#That pitch became Stealing Home, and it is David’s first graphic novel for children.#When he’s not drawing, David enjoys watching gadget review videos, reading manga, eating pastries, taking naps and looking at the CN Tower from his balcony.~Twitter: @davidnamisato~Instagram: @davidnamisato

Shrija Jain is an illustrator and a hand-lettering artist based in Oakville, Ontario, where she lives and works from her home studio, which is currently invaded by her collection of miniature figurines. A lot of people have a hard time pronouncing her name. It’s completely normal. She grew up in India and moved to Canada for further studies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in illustration from Sheridan College, which not only gave her an opportunity to try different mediums and art forms but also helped her discover ways to take her love for miniatures to her illustrations. After graduating, she has been working in the illustration and design field. She works primarily in pen and ink, creating the tiniest drawings that are later on blown up to a larger scale to add color. She is a tea lover who loves to create movement and energy in her work through color. She draws inspiration from minimalism and long morning walks in nature with some music on.#As a kid, seeing her thoughts come alive with a pencil in hand and a piece of paper only made her want to draw, discover and wonder more. Her first published book is My Words Flew Away Like Birds, where most of the characters drawn are inspired by people she met after she moved to Canada. Initially her words flew away like birds, too, but that was back then. A personal connection to the story made creating illustrations for the book even more special.#Her most favorite things (after a soft-bound sketchbook, two Micron pens and a 0.3 mm pencil) are her Batman pajamas, which she is quite possessive of.

Cale Atkinson was born and raised outside of Vancouver, British Columbia, surrounded by the Northwest forests and ocean. He grew up in a lively house full of various pets, including dogs, cats, hamsters, rats, parrots, hedgehogs and one very large iguana.#Ever since he can remember he has loved drawing and creating stories, be it through books, cartoons or comic strips.#Cale is now an author, illustrator and animator currently residing in Kelowna, British Columbia. You can usually find him up late drawing or watching cartoons with his wife, Jessika, and dog Charlie. His work can be found in animated shorts, video games and children’s books, including To the Sea, Explorers of the Wild, Where Oliver Fits, Off and Away and Sir Simon: Super Scarer.~Twitter: @2dCale~Instagram: @2dCale

Susan Batori is a Hungarian illustrator and graphic designer. She studied graphic design at the Hungarian Academy of Fine Arts in Budapest, Hungary. Susan then worked as an art director at DDB Advertising Agency and spent many years designing print ads, websites, posters and packages. But Susan noticed that drawing hilarious characters was much more fun. Since 2012, Susan has been working as a freelance children’s book illustrator, represented by Good Illustration Ltd. Her illustrations are created digitally, but she tries to make her work look handmade. She gets her inspiration from nature and from her favorite childhood books. Humor is the one thing in her studio that she could not live without.#Susan loves reading, watching great movies, walking in the forest and pampering herself with a good salted caramel ice cream. She watches an episode of Friends every day because it makes her cheery. Susan lives in Budapest with her partner, Robert, and her cat, Kamilla.~Instagram: @SusanBatori~Twitter: @SusanBatori~Facebook: @BatoriSusan

Marianne Ferrer is a freelance illustrator and graphic design graduate from the Université du Québec à Montréal. She currently lives in Verdun, Quebec.