Stinkbomb and Ketchup-Face and the Evilness of Pizza

John Dougherty was born in Larne, Northern Ireland. He studied psychology at university and then tried his hand at a number of jobs including YMCA hostel worker, factory machine operator, and unsuccessful singer-songwriter, before becoming a primary school teacher. Whilst John was teaching, his interest in children's literature was reawakened and he soon began writing stories and pestering publishers with them. After the publication of Zeus on the Loose in 2004 he left teaching and took up writing full-time, only with more tea breaks. His books have been shortlisted for a number of prestigious awards - and one was chosen by The Times as one of the Best Children's Books of the Year 2011 - but, more importantly, they make children giggle. David Tazzyman grew up in Leicester, studied illustration at Manchester Metropolitan University, and then travelled around Asia for three years before moving to London in 1997. He is the acclaimed illustrator of the Mr Gum books by Andy Stanton, as well as other children's titles including the Agatha Parrott and Donut Diaries books.