KYO MACLEAR was born in London and grew up in Toronto as the only child of a foreign correspondent. Her father reported on some significant world events, including recording the first interviews with American POWs in North Vietnam. While Stray Love is entirely a work of fiction, it is informed by her experiences living with her father. Her first novel, The Letter Opener (2007), was awarded the K.M. Hunter Artists Award and shortlisted for the Amazon/Books in Canada First Novel Award. Maclear is also an award-winning visual arts writer and the author of two children’s books: Spork (2010) and Virginia Wolf (2012). Visit her online at www.kyomaclear.ca.

Kyo Maclear's profile page

Isabelle Arsenault is a very talented Quebec illustrator who has won an impressive number of awards and has achieved international recognition. She has illustrated Migrant by Maxine Trottier, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and a finalist for the Governor General’s Award; Virginia Wolf by Kyo Maclear, winner of the Governor General’s Award; Le coeur de monsieur Gauguin by Marie-Danielle Croteau, winner of the Governor General’s Award; and My Letter to the World and Other Poems by Emily Dickinson, a finalist for the Governor General’s Award. She has also illustrated Once Upon a Northern Night by Jean Pendziwol and Jane, the Fox and Me by Fanny Britt, forthcoming from Groundwood. Isabelle has won the Grand Prix for illustration (Magazines du Québec) for six years running. She lives with her family in Montreal.

Isabelle Arsenault's profile page

• Winner, IBBY Honour List Children’s Books for 2014, Illustration, IBBY Canada
• Winner, Outstanding International Book, USBBY
• Commended, CCBC Choices, Cooperative Children’s Book Center
• Short-listed, Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award
• Short-listed, Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award, Canadian Library Association
• Winner, White Raven Award, International Youth Library
• Winner, Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Picture Book Award, IBBY Canada
• Winner, Best Books for Kids & Teens, Starred Selection, Canadian Children’s Book Centre
• Winner, Governor General’s Literary Award, Children’s Illustration, Canada Council for the Arts
• Commended, Best Bets, Picture Books, Ontario Library Association
• Winner, Books of the Year, Quill & Quire