• Country: Canada
Jess Keating is a zoologist-turned-author who writes with the sort of wisdom you can only get from multiple crocodile bites and skunk sprays. Jess has been making up stories for as long as she can remember, and at the age of eight, she even started a library in her room (mainly so she could charge her brother late fees). In addition to nonfiction, she writes middle-grade novels, including the Kirkus-starred How to Outrun a Crocodile When Your Shoes Are Untied.

Jess lives with her husband in Ontario, Canada, where she is hard at work on her next book in the World of Weird Animals series. Hint: There will be bloodsuckers!