Aurélie Valognes was born and raised near Paris, France. After business school, she began working for American companies and spent the early part of her career as a brand manager, working and traveling across Europe. A move from her home country for an international assignment in Italy rekindled her love of writing. Her first novel, Mémé dans les orties (Out of Sorts), became a bestseller in France and has been translated into many languages. She lives in Milan with her husband and two sons.

Wendeline A. Hardenberg became interested in translation as an undergrad at Smith College, where she ultimately translated part of a novel from French for her honors thesis. After earning a dual master’s degree in comparative literature (with a focus on translation) and library science from Indiana University Bloomington, she embarked on a dual career as a translator and a librarian. Her translation of Aurélie Valognes’s first novel, Out of Sorts, was published in January 2016. Learning new languages and translating from them is one of her favorite hobbies. She lives in New Haven, Connecticut.