Kellie Byrnes is a children’s author, presenter, mentor, book reviewer, kidlit blogger, and full-time freelance writer with a BA degree in Literature. Kellie’s first picture book, Cloud Conductor, came out in 2018 and Yes! No. is her second book. Kellie also has two more picture books, plus her first junior-fiction novel, on the way over the next twelve months.
An emerging Australian author, Kellie was chosen as an Artist in Residence at The Crows Nest, Queensland, for four months in 2019, thanks to the Sunshine Coast Council. She has also received three separate Regional Arts Development Funding grants from the Sunshine Coast Council to date to help her develop her writing career.
Kellie was a mentee in the 2018 Writing with the Stars picture-book mentorship program in the United States, and in the inaugural FicFest writing mentorship program in the United States in 2016. Plus, she has been a judge for two years in the row for the Pitch It writer’s competition run by Just Write for Kids Australia, and reviews and blogs about kidlit monthly.
Kellie is a member of multiple writing groups and an active part of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She has worked in multiple bookshops during her career and her love of books, stories, writing, and creativity started from an early age. Today, apart from spending time with her beloved dogs and hanging out with her friends and family or planning her next travel adventure, most of Kellie’s time is spent following these literary passions.
Gabriella Petruso lives in the north of England with her pet dog, Rufus, and his pet hamster, Norman. She is currently a doctor by day and an award-winning illustrator by every other waking hour. She uses ink to bring her whimsical characters to life and spends a lot of time at her local zoo seeking her next muse – the hairier the better! Gabriella is entirely self-taught.
Yes! No. will be Gabriella’s first children’s picture book. She hopes to help inspire a love of art and stories in a new generation of children and grown-ups.