Anika Fajardo is an award-winning writer, who was born in Colombia and raised in Minnesota. She is the author of Magical Realism for Non-Believers: A Memoir of Finding Family. Her books for young readers include What If a Fish and Meet Me Halfway (forthcoming), as well as Encanto: A Tale of Three Sisters, the middle-grade companion novel to the new Disney film. She lives with her family in Minneapolis.



Paola Escobar is a graphic designer and illustrator from Colombia.
As a child she loved drawing the stories told by her grandmother about their family and culture it was her dream to become an illustrator for children's books.
She is the illustrator of the award-winning picture book Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré as well as many other critically-acclaimed picture books. She has worked with publishers across the world and is proud to have illustrated stories that celebrate cultural diversity and champion unsung heroes.
Paola lives very happily in Bogotá, Colombia, with her husband and their dog, Flora.