Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold (b. 1979) is from Oslo. She made a sensational debut in 2009 with The Faster I Walk, the Smaller I Am, which was awarded the prestigious Tarjei Vesaas First Book Prize 2009, nominated for the Booksellers’ Prize 2009 and the P2 Listeners’ Prize, and shortlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2013.
Monsterhuman, Skomsvold’s second novel, was shortlisted for the P2 Listeners’ Prize and was nominated for Best Norwegian Book 2012 by Natt & Dag. Her third novel, 33, was published in 2014, and in 2017 she published The Child, an acclaimed, highly personal novel on love and childbirth.
A versatile and prodigious writer, Skomsvold writes fiction, poetry and children’s books.

Mari Kanstad Johnsen (b.1981) is an awarded and acclaimed visual artist, children’s book author and illustrator. She has a degree from Oslo National Academy of the Arts and Konstfack, University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm. In 2012, Kanstad Johnsen’s illustrations in a picture book was on the American magazine Flavorwire’s list “The 20 Most Beautiful Children’s Books of All Time”. In 2017 she was honoured “special mention” at the international Bologna Ragazzi Awards.
Mari Kanstad Johnsen has illustrated for several newspapers and magazines, including New York Times.