Walter Dean Myers was the New York Times bestselling author of Monster, the winner of the first Michael L. Printz Award; a National Ambassador for Young People's Literature; and an inaugural NYC Literary Honoree. Myers was recognized by every single major award in the field of children's literature. He was the author of two Newbery Honor Books and five Coretta Scott King Book Award winners. He was the recipient of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults and a three-time National Book Award finalist as well as the first ever recipient of the Coretta Scott King–Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Christopher Myers is a graduate of Brown University and the Whitney Museum of Art Independent Studio Program. He is the acclaimed illustrator of Love: Selected Poems by E. E. Cummings; Harlem: A Poem, a Caldecott Honor Book; Jazz, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book; Blues Journey, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. He is also the author-illustrator of Black Cat and H.O.R.S.E.: A Game of Basketball and Imagination, both Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Books; We Are America: A Tribute from the Heart; A Time to Love: Stories from the Old Testament; Looking Like Me; Wings; and Fly!