Janet Gurtler has written numerous well-received YA books. Mermaid Kingdom is her debut series for the middle-grade market. She lives in Calgary Alberta, near the Canadian Rockies, with her husband and son. Since graduating from Loughborough University School of Art and Design in 2004, Katie Wood has been a freelance illustrator. From her studio in Leicester, England, she creates bright and lively illustrations for books and magazines all over the world.