Amra Sabic-El-Rayess grew up in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently she is a professor at Columbia University, studying how and why societies fall apart and what role education can play in rebuilding decimated countries. She is also the author of the critically acclaimed young adult memoir The Cat I Never Named.
Laura L. Sullivan is the author of more than 50 books for children and adults, including the middle-grade fantasy Under the Green Hill and the young-adult historical romance Love by the Morning Star. She lives on the west coast of Florida.