Scott Westerfeld is the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of over thirty books for adults and young readers, including the Uglies series and the Leviathan trilogy. He has been nominated for and has won numerous awards, including the Locus, the Nebula, and the Aurealis. Scott lives in New York City. Before You Were Here is his debut picture book.

Jessica Lanan is the Sibert Honor-winning creator of Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider and The Fisherman&the Whale, a Colorado Book Award finalist and winner of the Bull-Bransom Award for wildlife art. She has illustrated many other picture books, including The Lost Package, Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet, and Thank You, Moon. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her daughter and cat.

Scott Westerfeld is a software designer, a composer of music for modern dance, and the author of novels such as The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds. He lives in New York City and Sydney, Australia.

Jessica Lanan has long been enchanted by the mysteries of the cosmos. Exoplanets are too far away for her to visit, but illustrating them is the next best thing. Jessica currently lives in her native state of Colorado with her husband, three-legged cat, and baby daughter, who was born during the making of Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet.

Jessica's illustrations can also be found in Finding Narnia: The Story of C. S. Lewis and His Brother, The Lost Package, and Jumper.