Hendrik Groen (Author) started his diary on the literary website of Torpedo magazine. He says about his novel- 'There's not one sentence that's a lie, but not every word is true.' The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old has been translated into over thirty languages. Hester Velmans (Translator) is the author of two popular children's novels and a translator specializing in modern fiction. Her translation of Renate Dorrestein's A Heart of Stone won the Vondel Prize for Translation and was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers selection. Her translation of Lulu Wang's The Lily Theater was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her children's book Isabel of the Whales now has a sibling- the second in the Whales Series, Jessaloup's Song (age 10 and up).