Paolo Ventura is one of the most original Italian photographers. His works have been exhibited in galleries and museums all over the world, and in the last few years he has mostly focused on painting. Among is books,:War Souvenir (2006), Winter Stories (2009), L’Automa ( 2011), Short Stories (2016), Quarantine Diary (2020) and Paolo Ventura. Photographs and Drawings (2020).
Andrew Knapp is a graphic designer and photographer currently living in Vancouver who has traveled to over 30 countries with Momo the border collie. Along with his commercial photography and design work, he has filmed a TEDx Talk, and worked on projects with brands like Target, Canon, Starbucks and Volvo. He’s amassed a social media following of over a million followers. Andrew continues to live a life devoted to his dogs and the people around them.
Massimiliano Tappari was born in 1967. He imagines the world like a big book to flip through, with plenty of characters and plots hidden in everyday objects and landscapes. He published Oooh! Inventario di fotografia and Coffee Break (Corraini). Among his most recent books, created with Chiara Carminati, are A fior di pelle (Nati per leggere Award 2019), Ninna No and Occhio ladro (Italian Andersen Award 2021 for Best Artist Book), Lapis editions.
Jeugov (Jacopo Riva 1981), a failed lumberjack, was cast away in the field of fashion. Saved by a mermaid, he marries her. They live together in Milan, he misses the woods, she misses the sea, but they have six wonderful children who keep them busy. Now he invents and draws stories for them.
José Maria Vieira Mendes was born in 1974 in Lisbon, where he currently lives. In the past, he also lived in Porto, Vila Meã, Praia das Maçãs, Saarbrücken, Berlin, Saint Nazaire, Budapest and Altura. He mainly writes theatre plays. He’s part of the theatre company Teatro Praga since 2008 and he’s also an art director at the arts space Rua das Gaivotas 6, in Lisbon. His plays have been translated in over ten languages. Furthermore, José Maria also works in literary translations, he has written two opera librettos, two children’s books and occasionally works with visual artists.
Raffaella Pajalich lives and works in Rome as endocrinologist and psychotherapist, and she has a long-dating passion for literature. She has always nourished her interest in both the scientific and humanistic fields, believing this tendency to separation is wrong, since both medicine and literature are focused on the human being considered as a whole.
Toon Tellegen (1941), author and poet, is one of the Netherlands' most celebrated writers. His animal stories have been translated into 19 languages and are loved by children and parents the world over. He lives in Amsterdam, and loves reading, telling stories and huge, sweet cakes.
Photo © Koos Breukel
Francesca Biasetton, illustrator and calligrapher, worked in the fashion industry for magazines, catalogues, commercials. Her work has been displayed in the solo exhibition Cento disegni per la moda, and the collective exhibition Favolose – 15 illustratrici italiane per l’infanzia. She collaborates with cinema, theatre and publishing projects. Among her picture books, Abbecedario (Panini, 2009) was awarded with Premio Andersen 2003 and Premio Stregagatto 2004, and Chi ha rapito Giallo Canarino?
Yoon Kang-mi majored in painting at the university and has presented works in many exhibitions and studied picture books at various workshops. She was selected as an artist to be supported through visitors’ vote in the first Un-printed Ideas exhibition hosted by the Hyundai Museum of Kids’ Books and Art in 2018. A Building Where Trees Grow is her first original picture book.