TRUDI TRUEIT is a gifted storyteller for middle-grade audiences, and has written more than 100 fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, including the Explorer Academy series, beginning with Explorer Academy: The Nebula Secret. Trueit was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, and lives in Everett, Washington. Web: www.truditrueit.com.

KHADIJAH KHATIB is a Malaysian illustrator and concept artist from the hot, sunny city of Kuala Lumpur. She spends most of her time relaxing with her cats, traveling, and playing her guitar when she isn't creating intricate illustrations for books and video games. Khatib has illustrated book covers for publishers such as Disney, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan Publishers, and HarperCollins, to name a few. One of her notable cover illustrations is the cover for Rick Riordan's Daughter of the Deep. She has also had the opportunity to illustrate an album cover for K-pop's AleXa, and has worked on multiple game development projects as a concept artist.