Nathanael Lessore was born in Camberwell, South East London, as one of eight children to French and Madagascan parents. Although he has spent most of his life in Peckham, Nathanael has also lived in Paris, Strasbourg and Singapore. Nathanael can run 100 metres in under 10 minutes and has trouble finding sunglasses that frame his face properly. His debut book Steady For This was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing 2024 and won the Branford Boase Award 2024. He is also the author of King of Nothing, and writes stories that show his South East London childhood as the funny, warm, adventurous world that wasn't always represented as such.