Jean-Claude Mourlevat once wrote and directed burlesque shows for adults and children, which were performed for more than ten years in France and elsewhere. The author of several children’s books, he lives in a house overhanging the River Loire, near Saint-Etienne, France.

Anthea Bell is an award-winning translator of French and German fiction, including the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. She lives near Cambridge, England.