All the King's Tights

Maudie Smith began her career as an actor. She spent years perching on scenery in the back of a van, while touring with a small-scale theatre company. In children's theatre, she played well-known characters such as Piglet and the Snow Queen. She co-devised many of the plays in which she performed and has written lyrics for musicals, cabaret and a libretto. She recently graduated from Bath Spa University with an MA in Writing for Young People.
Maudie lives in a village near Bath with her screenwriter husband, two daughters, two cats, two chickens and far too many stick insects. Visit her website http://www.maudiesmith.co.uk/ and follow her on Twitter @MaudieSmith Ali Pye had two ambitions when she was a child - to be a police dog trainer and to work as an illustrator. Luckily for the police dogs of Britain, Ali's life took her in a different direction - but she did get to achieve her second aim and has illustrated more than 30 books, including Girls Can Do Anything by Caryl Hart.
Ali has also written her own stories for picture books and young fiction. She lives in London with her family.