Rooms for Dessert

Born in 1977, Jan von Holleben received his first camera at the age of 13. He studied special needs education in Freiburg, before earning a degree in the history and theory of photography from Surrey Institute of Art and Design. Von Holleben’s idiosyncratic images have been exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in London, the Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, and seen in Der Spiegel, Die Zeit and the Süddeutsche Zeitung magazine, among other publications. His numerous children’s books have been translated into 17 languages.

Monte Packham writes for children and adults. He is the author of books including Concentric Circles. A Chronicle of Steidl Publishers (2010), ABC Photography (2016), Living with Matisse, Picasso and Christo. Theodor Ahrenberg and His Collections (2018)—Book of the Year at the 2019 Collector’s Awards, Photo Adventures (2019), Rhyme Time (2021) and The Blueberry Machine (2022). Born in Sydney in 1981, Packham holds degrees in art history and law; he lives and works in Berlin.